Man faces life-threatening injuries in crash that closed Interstate 435 for two hours
A crash that left one man with life-threatening injuries closed part of southbound Interstate 435 for about two hours Wednesday morning.
Crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation found a stranded driver of a green Jaguar stopped in a southbound lane of traffic just north of Eastwood Trafficway. MODOT Crews were able to help the driver off the highway and onto Eastwood Trafficway.
Just after 5 a.m., the same Jaguar was stalled with no lights in a southbound lane of I-435, just past Gregory Boulevard when a white Mercedes struck the rear of the Jaguar, according to an incident report from the Kansas City Police Department.
According to a KCPD crash log, the Jaguar was having “alternater issues” at the time of the crash.
The driver of the Jaguar exited his vehicle and was standing in a lane of traffic, behind the white Mercedes, using the light on his cell phone to try and alert other drivers.
At 5:15 a.m., a driver of a blue Volkswagen did not see the initial crash or the driver of the Jaguar standing in the lane of traffic, the incident report said. The blue Volkswagen struck the man, pinning him between the Mercedes and the Volkswagen.
The man was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to Phil DiMartino, a spokesman with KCPD.
The driver of the Mercedes from the initial crash suffered minor injuries and refused medical help at the scene, DiMartino said. The driver of the Volkswagen was not injured.
The highway was closed for about 2 hours as crews worked to clear the area. Traffic was directed into one lane to use an exit and on ramp to bypass the crash.
