KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A fatal crash on northbound Interstate 435 in Kansas City, Missouri left two people dead and was linked to a series of overnight armed robberies, according to the Kansas City Police Department. The incident involved two drivers, one of whom was believed to be a suspect fleeing from the police, resulting in a head-on collision.
Early Tuesday morning, I-435 at 210 Highway was closed for several hours as accident investigators worked through the deadly incident. The police responded to a convenience store armed robbery call at 2:34 a.m., followed by another at a gas station around 3:25 a.m. In both cases, the suspect robbed the victims at gunpoint. A third armed robbery was reported at a gas station around 4:13 a.m. A black Dodge Challenger and the suspect were identified and connected to all three incidents.
After locating the Challenger, the police initiated a pursuit. The suspect drove south in the northbound lanes of I-435, leading to a head-on collision with a Chevrolet Equinox near 210 Highway. Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene, and their identities have not been released. The pursuit was withdrawn when the suspect’s vehicle began driving the wrong way on the interstate. It wasn’t until nearly five hours later that all lanes of I-435 were reopened to drivers.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, and this marks the first and second traffic deaths of 2024 in Kansas City. The Kansas City Police Department continues to gather information and piece together the events that led to this tragic outcome.