Driver Sought In Pedestrian Fatality Following Police Chase

Police in Kansas City are searching for a driver of a stolen pickup truck they say fatally hit a pedestrian as it fled from officers.

The chase began Wednesday afternoon on Kansas City’s east side when officers spotted the stolen pickup and tried to pull it over at Independence and Topping, police said in a news release. The truck fled, ramming a patrol car in the process.

Police said the officers called off the chase as the truck entered the northbound lanes of Interstate 435 traveling southbound (three miles away from the initial traffic stop).

Less than a minute later, police found the body of a man on Truman Road (near the I-435 ramp) that appeared to have been hit by the fleeing pickup truck around 4 p.m.

The truck was found a short distance away, and a woman who was a passenger in the truck was arrested. The driver of the truck fled on foot and, despite a search involving helicopters and police K-9 dogs, was not found, police said.

The name of the pedestrian killed was not immediately released.

Investigators are examining traffic camera footage and dash cams from Patrol vehicles to determine exactly what happened.