One person was killed and two others were injured Friday afternoon in a crash that unfolded as they were pursued by Missouri State Patrol troopers on Interstate 435, police said. The crash happened just after 2 p.m. on I-435 southbound near the Gregory Boulevard exit. Kansas City police were called by patrol to investigate the crash and were notified of a highway patrol pursuit involving a white Ford pickup that had fled a traffic stop. At the time of the crash, investigators determined the truck was in the left lane when the driver swerved across two lanes of traffic in an apparent attempt to exit the interstate at Gregory. He was struck by a Ford F250 traveling in the middle lane, police said, causing the vehicle being pursued to overturn and roll several times. Two of the three people in the suspect vehicle, including the driver, were thrown onto the freeway, police said. One of the passengers fell under a passing semi-truck. Everyone was taken to the hospital. The driver was pronounced dead at the hospital. The ejected passenger was being treated for life-threatening injuries and the other passenger was seriously injured as of Friday night. No one else was injured in the crash, police said. Related stories from the Kansas City Star Bill Lukitsch covers breaking news for The Star. Before joining The Star, he covered politics and local government for the Quad-City Times.
