KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 49-year-old man is facing charges in connection to the death of a teenager acting as a Good Samaritan during a crash in July 2024 on Interstate 35 in Merriam.
Around 2 a.m. on July 27, 2024, Benjamin D. Van Buskirk, 17, was a passenger in a car that pulled over to help a stranded motorist in the southbound lanes of I-35 near Johnson Drive.
As Benjamin was helping the stranded motorist, the driver of a Jeep Liberty crashed into the stranded car that Benjamin was assisting.
Benjamin died from his injuries. The stranded motorist suffered serious injuries in the crash.
The driver of the Jeep, identified as Matthew Thomas Bray, was charged on Aug. 13, 2025, with aggravated battery while driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an injury crash, both felonies.
Bray was taken into custody on Aug. 19. He made his first appearance before a Johnson County District Court Judge on Wednesday. He’ll return to court for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 27
Bray remained in custody as of Thursday morning on a $25,000 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.
