It seems that an off-duty police officer with the Kansas City force is responsible for a fatal accident that happened on Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium.
The officer was driving a department vehicle when the accident happened, which is not surprising since the police are allowed to drive their vehicles for personal or off-duty use.
According to reports, the officer slammed into the back of a family’s vehicle. Traffic was heavy since the Kansas City Chiefs had a game that evening, and the officer apparently did not see that the vehicle in front of him had applied the brakes.
One person died in the auto accident. The victim who died was a senior at a local high school who played on the school’s football team. In addition to the teen, who was driving, two others suffered serious injuries in the accident. One reportedly had suffered a serious traumatic brain injury.
An investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol is continuing. Although the vehicle involved belonged to the police, one aspect of this investigation will be to determine whether and to what extent the officer was acting in an official capacity as opposed to as a private citizen. This information may have implications with respect to whom is responsible to pay for the accident.
Right now, the victims will likely want to focus on recovering from their own injuries and mourning the loss of their young relative who died.
However, particularly since there are some open legal questions about who is responsible for this accident, the family may eventually want to secure the help of a Missouri car accident attorney.
