Driver of stolen car blamed for fiery chain-reaction crash that closed downtown KC highway
The driver of a stolen car is being blamed for causing a fiery chain-reaction crash that sent a cement truck out of control down an embankment and through a concrete barrier in downtown Kansas City Tuesday morning, a police spokesman said.
Seven people were injured in the wreck, including the driver of the cement truck who suffered serious injuries, and had to be taken to a hospital, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department. The driver of the stolen car ran away from the crash scene.
The early morning crash closed Interstate 670 on the south side of the downtown loop for hours. The westbound lanes of I-670 reopened around 8:30 a.m. Eastbound I-670 reopened shortly before 11 a.m., according to Kansas City Scout.
The crash occurred shortly before 5:40 a.m. near I-670 and Broadway in the southwest corner of downtown Kansas City. The driver of a stolen Hyundai tried to take the entrance ramp to southbound Interstate 35 from Broadway and collided with a Kenworth box truck and Geiger cement truck, Becchina said.
As a result of the crash, the cement truck careened off the ramp, down an embankment and struck a large cedar tree. The truck continued over the guardrail and struck a gray Honda Civic, Becchina said.
The cement truck continued through the concrete barrier that separates eastbound and westbound I-670, where it collided with a Dodge Durango. Both of those vehicles came to rest against a guardrail and then caught fire.
The driver of the Honda sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The cement truck driver was seriously injured. The driver of the Dodge and four passengers had non-life-threatening injuries, Becchina said. The driver of the box truck was not injured.
This story was originally published June 20, 2023 at 6:54 AM.
