A man was killed in a hit-and-run crash on the evening of Friday, November 29.
The crash occurred around 7:45 pm near the intersection of Independence and Cypress avenues. Authorities, responding to a request for help from a bystander, found the victim on the street. The driver fled the scene before they arrived.
The victim was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, and was pronounced dead just before 9:15 pm.
“Our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of the victim,” said Eric Rogers, executive director for BikeWalkKC. “To lose a loved one so soon after Thanksgiving makes this crash especially tragic.”
“We want to ask the public for help in bringing the driver to justice,” noted BikeWalkKC policy manager Michael Kelley. “Our streets should be made for people, but we can’t make that a reality if reckless drivers aren’t held accountable for their actions.”
As BikeWalkKC has stated in the past, what deserves the brunt of the blame for these crashes is the culture that values car traffic efficiency over the safety of human lives. According to local news reports we’ve gathered, this marks the 33rd confirmed crash involving a vulnerable road user in KCMO in 2019.
For more information, contact Karen Campbell, director of development and communications, at (816) 205-7056 (ext. 2) or by email at karen.campbell@bikewalkkc.org.
While no description of the vehicle was immediately available, if you have any information about the crash, please call 911 or the TIPS hotline at (816) 474-8477.
BikeWalkKC believes that crashes are not accidents.