Deadly car crash on N. Chouteau

By Paul Thompson

Northeast News

April 17, 2017

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – At around 10:00 a.m. on the morning of Monday, April 17, a two vehicle accident in the Northeast left one woman dead at the scene.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, April 19, KCPD identified the deceased victim in the crash as 24-year-old Krealonna Willis of Kansas City, Missouri.

The accident occurred on the elevated portion of N. Chouteau, which rises above the railroad yard located in the Northeast industrial area. According to KCPD Sgt. Bill Mahoney, a collision occurred about midway up the bridge, which has since been temporarily closed to vehicle traffic.

“We’re still working out the particulars. They ran into each other; one of the vehicles was put up into the concrete barrier, and it flipped over,” said Mahoney. “There was a young woman inside, and she was dead at the scene.”

Mahoney said that the man driving the other vehicle was unhurt, adding that the individual was still speaking with officers regarding the accident. Both vehicles were traveling south at the point of impact, and the vehicle with the woman inside struck the barrier on the right side of the road. At the time, Mahoney wasn’t prepared to discuss the statement made by the other driver.

“We’re in the process of getting his statement right now, so I don’t want to get into it right at this time,” said Mahoney. “We’re still just in the initial stages of it.”

Billy Smith, who was driving northbound at the time of the collision, said that he witnessed the two cars collide through his rear-view mirror.

The man’s vehicle (described as a black Mustang) was behind the female’s vehicle (red sedan) when Smith initially drove past. After Smith passed the two cars, he witnessed the Mustang move into the northbound lane to attempt a pass at a high rate of speed. When he attempted to get back into the southbound lane, the Mustang driver made a significant impact with the female driver’s vehicle, causing it to careen off into the wall. From there, Smith saw the red vehicle roll over “five or six times.”

Smith said that he then stopped and called the police.

“I was back far enough to know when to get over, so I got over,” said Smith. “He had enough time to go around her. He thought he had got cleared, but he didn’t. He was flying.”