KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 38-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, man has been charged with leading Independence police on a chase Saturday that ended in a crash.
Just after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, an Independence police officer spotted a Chevrolet Tahoe in the Walmart parking lot at 400 S. Bolger Road with a Texas license plate on the rear but not the front. The officer ran the plate and found it belonged to a different vehicle.
Police attempted to stop the Tahoe, but it fled onto E. 39th Street at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.
Due to the Tahoe's driving conditions, the initial officers ended the pursuit.
Less than 10 minutes later, officers in another Independence patrol car spotted the Tahoe, which was continuing to drive erratically and going 100 miles per hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone on Lee’s Summit Road.
As the driver of the Tahoe approached E. Truman Road, he drove northbound in the southbound lanes, eventually failing to stop at a red light and crashing into a Mitsubishi SUV.
Four people were inside the Mitsubishi, three of whom had to be extricated. Two of the occupants were transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. The two other occupants of the Mitsubishi, as well as a passenger in the Tahoe, were also transported to a hospital.
The driver of the Tahoe, later identified as Aaron Ashley, fled the scene, though he was taken into custody a short time later.
Ashley was transported to the Independence Police Department Detention Unit, where he was placed in a “de-escalation” cell. Court documents revealed Ashley continued to be uncooperative with police.
On Sunday, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office charged Ashley with one count of aggravated fleeing of police and causing physical injury, leaving the scene of an injury crash and damage to jail property.
He remained in custody on a $200,000, cash-only bond.
—
If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
