By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
June 28, 2011

A Kansas City man has now been charged with nine felonies and one misdemeanor in relation to Monday’s fatal car crash at 12th Street and Hardesty Avenue.

Witnesses said the man drove eastbound on 12th Street straddling the center line at approximately 80 to 100 miles per hour and failed to stop at a red light. The driver, Jonathan P. Ross, 22, tested positive for alcohol and lab analysis revealed a blood alcohol level of .126 percent.

During an interview with police, Ross admitted to drinking vodka prior to the accident and said he was speeding to his grandmother’s house because she called him for help.

Witnesses said Ross failed to stop at a red light and struck a white Lincoln that entered the intersection northbound from Hardesty. The collision then caused the vehicles to strike a white Ford at the intersection. Driver of the Lincoln, 65-year-old Gertrude Price of Kansas City, Mo., was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Her passengers, Grace Price, 46, and Kenneth J. Smith, 45, were transported to the hospital in serious condition. Driver of the white Ford, Roy S. Brooks, 51, was also seriously injured. Following the accident, Ross exited the stolen Dodge Dakota and fled on foot. A witness pursued Ross on foot until police arrived and took Ross into custody.

Two days before the accident, Ross stole two vehicles and damaged four at a car dealership in Independence, Mo., according to police documents. Ross was driving a stolen Dodge Dakota during the crash. During an interview with police, Ross admitted to stealing the vehicles, fleeing on foot and acknowledged he was driving with a revoked driver’s license.

Ross has been charged with second degree murder, tampering with a motor vehicle, three counts of second degree assault of operating a vehicle while intoxicated resulting in injury, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, two counts of stealing a motor vehicle, all felonies, and operating a motor vehicle on the highway while driver’s license is revoked, a misdemeanor.

Prosecutors have requested a bond of $500,000.