Before the fatal crash on MO-291 early Monday morning, an Excelsior Springs Police officer pulled over the vehicle after someone was yelling loudly from within.
According to a press release sent out by the Excelsior Springs Police Department, an officer stopped the vehicle at 3:23 a.m. on St. Louis Avenue near Sycamore Street. The vehicle also had an inoperable license plate light.
The passengers admitted to consuming alcohol at a party in Ray County before being picked up by the driver when police said they smelled alcohol coming from the vehicle.The officer conducted a series of field sobriety tests, but the driver showed no signs of impairment and a portable breath test showed less than half of the .02 BAC required by Missouri state statutes for a minor in possession. After a search of the vehicle, no alcohol was found.
The officer let the driver and passengers go at 3:46 a.m. At approximately 4:20 a.m. the same vehicle struck a center concrete sign support just south of Salisbury Road on MO-291.
The 19-year-old driver and a 17-year-old passenger were killed. Two other passengers were transported to an area hospital and are expected to survive.
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