A high-speed car chase just north of Kansas City ended in a car accident that sent an innocent bystander to the hospital with minor injuries. However, the incident shows how police chases frequently end with a car crash that can hurt innocent people through no fault of their own.
Traffic Stop Turns into Car Chase
The incident started just after 8pm on Saturday, November 26, 2016. Police tried to pull a blue Ford Taurus over on Interstate 29, near the Zona Rosa Town Center at the intersection of the highway and Route 152, just north of Kansas City and 40 miles south of St. Joseph, Missouri.
Ignoring the police lights in his rearview mirror, however, the driver sped up, instead. The police officer from the Platte County Sheriff’s Office followed, and the traffic stop turned into a high-speed car chase southbound on Interstate 29.
The chase continued for nearly five miles, when the police officer called it off at exit 6.
Fleeing Vehicle Causes Car Accident, Injuring Two
The fleeing car, however, continued to speed along Interstate 29. When the driver got off the highway at the next exit, he recklessly merged with traffic at the intersection, slamming into another car at 64th Street and Prairie View Road.
The driver of the fleeing car was arrested and brought to the hospital for his injuries. Several others fled the crash on foot.
The car accident, however, also hurt the passenger of the car that was hit. Police reports indicate that the passenger suffered minor injuries, and was brought to the hospital for treatment.
Chases Frequently Lead to Injuries from Car Accidents
Figures by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that 10,642 people were killed in car chases between 1982 and 2014 – nearly one fatality every day for more than three decades.
According to a study done by USA Today, nearly half of the people who were killed in car chases between 1979 and 2013 were either bystanders or passengers in the chased vehicles. These deaths frequently happen at the end of a car chase, when the fleeing vehicle’s dangerous driving creates a car accident.
In the city of Los Angeles, where car chases are especially common, nearly a third of police pursuits end in a car accident. Two-thirds of those crashes result in injuries, with many of those suffered by innocent bystanders.
Oftentimes, these car chases were started over a minor traffic violation, like a missing taillight or improperly merging into another lane on the highway.
St. Joseph Car Accident Attorneys at the Smith Law Office
As a driver, there is little that you can do when a high-speed car chase comes barreling down the road at you. If you are in the wrong place at the wrong time and get hurt in the resulting car accident, having the personal injury attorneys at the Smith Law Office can help you get the financial compensation you need to make a full recovery. Contact the Smith Law Office online or call our St. Joseph office at (816) 875-9373.