KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The westbound lanes of Interstate 70 reopened early Friday morning after a fatal crash involving a pedestrian between Woods Chapel Road and Little Blue Parkway.
Independence Police say the incident began as a traffic stop for a suspected impaired driver near eastbound I-70 and Little Blue Parkway.
Police say officers attempted to stop a 2012 Ford Fusion when the driver began merging towards the shoulder and was nearly struck by an eastbound semi as it was yielding to the emergency equipment.
Police say the driver pulled away from the shoulder and continued eastbound then pulled to the outside shoulder once the officer was able to get back behind the vehicle.
After coming to a stop, police say two people fled from the Ford Fusion on foot.
Police say a 17 -year-old male ran across several lanes of traffic and was struck by a westbound vehicle.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says that juvenile was killed.
This was the second time in two days an Independence Police Department pursuit ended with a death.
A driver died Thursday after being struck late Wednesday night by a stolen pickup truck being pursued by Independence police at East 9th Street and Benton Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri. Two other people in the vehicle hit by fleeing driver were critically injured.
The suspect ran away and no information was released by Independence police today on whether the stolen pickup truck driver has been arrested.
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