KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A former Kansas City, Missouri, police officer who was accused of speeding and using his phone when he caused a deadly crash on Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium in October 2018 has pleaded guilty to four felony counts.
Terrell Watkins, 35, will be sentenced July 7 for first-degree manslaughter, two counts of second-degree assault and one count of careless and imprudent driving related to the crash on Oct. 18, 2018, as lines of cars filed into Arrowhead Stadium for a Chiefs game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The crash happened around 4 p.m.
Watkins, who was a KCPD employee at the time, was driving a blue department van and traveling 76 mph while on his phone before slamming into the back of a red Mitsubishi Lancer that was stopped on the interstate in a line of traffic.
Chandan Rajanna, 17, who was a Shawnee Mission South senior at the time, was killed in the crash.
Two other passengers in the vehicle also were injured, while Watkins was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Watkins, who no longer works for KCPD, was working off-duty as security for the Chiefs game and was running late when he caused the crash.
