Thursday morning police chase ends with a crash

Posted: October 8, 2015 - 4:37pm

A police pursuit of two aggravated burglary suspects that began in Kansas City, Kan., ended in Shawnee early Thursday morning.

Contributed photo of the crashed suspect vehicle

According to Kansas City, Kan., police, the chase began in the 4100 block of North 110th Street at about 2:45 a.m. after someone called police reporting that someone was trying to break into their house. Officers responded to the scene and the suspects were seen driving away.

Officers pursued the suspect's Buick Rendezvous onto Interstate 70, where speeds reached 110mph according to radio traffic. The suspect's then led officers to southbound Interstate 635, where a Kansas City, Kan. officer was able to get spike strips down in front of the vehicle, causing one of the front tires to go flat. The chase then exited at Metropolitan Avenue and travelled west to Holliday Drive, passing Lake Quivira. The pursuit continued into Shawnee and the driver lost control at Wilder Road where the road curves to cross several sets of railroad tracks.

Shawnee police said that the vehicle crashed under the railroad bridge and caught fire.

Operation 100 News video from the scene, not for broadcast

Firefighters from Shawnee and Kansas City, Kan. responded to the scene to extinguish the fire.

Radio traffic from officers reported that one suspect ran from the crash scene. A second suspect, who was injured in the crash, stayed at the scene and was quickly detained by officers. The injured suspect was transported by Johnson County Med-Act to the University of Kansas Hospital with serious injuries.

Kansas City, Missouri detectives near the crash scene in Shawnee
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Mike Frizzell - Operation 100 News photo
Additional photos below report

Shawnee police searched the wooded area, Mill Creek Streamway Park, and the northern edge of the Deffenbaugh Landfill with K-9 units for several hours Thursday morning. Officers called off their search around 7:30 a.m. with no sign of the suspect.

Shawnee police were not involved in the pursuit, Maj. Dan Tennis said. However, according to Amber Thomas-Hickerson with the Kansas City, Kan. police, Shawnee police and Kansas City, Mo., police were investigating the burglary as well in connection to other burglary cases in their cities.

Captain Tye Grant with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department confirmed to Operation 100 News that detectives from the department's property crimes unit were working with Kansas agencies on a burglary investigation.

Just after 9:30 a.m., radio traffic indicated that a man matching the description of the second suspect was seen near the scalehouse at the main entrance to the Deffenbaugh landfill. Reports indicated that the man was spotted by landfill security, who called police describing a black male dressed in dark clothing and only wearing one shoe. Shawnee officers arrived quickly and spotted the man running towards the river. Police arrested him near the entrance to Deffenbaugh landfill, according to scanner reports.

BNSF maintenance crews responded to the crash scene to check the structural integrity of the bridge before allowing rail traffic to resume. The bridge was reopened just after 5:30 a.m.

Officers from five agencies were involved in the initial search for the suspects after the crash. Those agencies included Shawnee Police, Lenexa Police, Kansas City, Kan. Police, Kansas City, Mo. Police, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Police.

A railroad worker inspects the bridge for damage after police left the scene
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Mike Frizzell - Operation 100 News photo

The crash scene after sunrise
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Mike Frizzell - Operation 100 News photo

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