Stolen vehicle rams police car, closing I-635 for 2 hours in Kansas City, Kansas
Northbound Interstate 635 was closed for nearly two hours Thursday after the driver of a suspected stolen vehicle rammed a Kansas City, Kansas, police car, a police spokeswoman said.
The two officers in the patrol car, as well as the driver of the stolen vehicle, were injured in the collision, which totaled the stolen vehicle, said Nancy Chartrand, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.
The officers were treated at a hospital and released, she said. It was not immediately known if the driver of the stolen vehicle remained hospitalized or had been taken into custody.
The crash occurred about 4:30 a.m. along northbound I-635 just north of Parallel Parkway. Officers had spotted what they believed was a stolen vehicle and as they were running a license plate check, the driver rammed the patrol car, Chartrand said.
It was later learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen, she said.
The northbound lanes of the highway were closed while police investigated the crash. Traffic was allowed to squeeze by the wreck on the right shoulder. That caused a major backup early in the morning’s rush hour along I-635, which is a popular route from Johnson County to the Kansas City International Airport.
Kansas City Scout traffic cameras showed traffic bumper-to-bumper at a near standstill on the highway. The highway reopened about 6:30 a.m.
