Rush hour headache. Crash closes major route to Kansas City’s midtown, downtown
A major commuter highway into downtown Kansas City was closed for most of the Tuesday morning rush hour after a semi crashed and overturned, according to a police spokesman.
The crash occurred shortly after 4 a.m. along southbound U.S. 71/Bruce R. Watkins Drive near East 7th Street, said Sgt. Phil DiMartino with the Kansas City Police Department.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a white International semitractor with double trailers was headed south on the highway in the left lane, DiMartino said. After the truck passed 75th Street, the driver failed to stay in their lane and drifted to the right, striking a maroon Ford Mustang that was in the right southbound lane.
The impact of the crash caused the truck and Ford to careen off the road to the left, striking the median cable barriers. The semi continued south through the grassy median before overturning, DiMartino said.
The driver of the truck was taken to a hospital with critical injuries, where they were listed in critical, but stable condition. The driver of the Ford was uninjured in the collision.
The wreck caused both the northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. 71/Bruce R. Watkins Drive to shut down. The northbound lanes were closed at 87th Street, and the southbound lanes of U.S. 71 were closed past Gregory Boulevard, the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Kansas City District said
At 6:25 a.m., transportation officials said the southbound lanes were open past Gregory Boulevard, but the northbound lanes remained closed.
The crash snarled traffic headed from the southern parts of the metro to Kansas City’s midtown and downtown areas. A Kansas City Scout traffic camera showed that traffic was being forced off the highway at the Hickman Mills Drive/Blue River Road/85th & 87th streets exit.
The northbound lanes of the highway remain closed so that the truck and the fully loaded trailers could be removed, DiMartino said.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 8:44 AM.
