By Kendrick Calfee, Nathan Pilling
The Kansas City Star
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City Police Department motorcycle traffic officer is in critical condition and being monitored by medical staff after being injured in a crash Wednesday morning in south Kansas City, a KCPD spokesman confirmed.
The crash happened around 9:40 a.m. near Troost Avenue and Gregory Boulevard, according to KCPD Sgt. Jonathan Rivers. A motorcycle officer who was leaving a traffic stop traveling north on Troost struck a Toyota SUV that was driving in the opposite direction and turned in front of the motorcycle.
Rivers said the officer didn’t have time to stop or react to the vehicle, and was thrown from his motorcycle. Rivers said the owner of a local business ran over to assist the officer and summoned first responders by pushing an emergency button on the officer’s radio.
The officer was taken to a hospital with injuries initially considered to be life-threatening. At last update around noon Wednesday, police described his condition as “critical but stable.”
An investigation into the collision was in its preliminary stages Wednesday afternoon and the driver of the Toyota was cooperating, police said.
A police official with knowledge of the officer’s injuries told The Star the motorcycle officer did not sustain any serious injuries to their head or brain, but medical staff has been monitoring the officer’s lungs, which were severely bruised in the crash.
Capt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for KCPD, confirmed the officer is in “critical but stable” condition just before noon Wednesday.
There was a large police presence near the scene of the crash Wednesday morning. A motorcycle could be seen damaged and lying on its side at the front of a gray Toyota RAV4 near the intersection of Troost Avenue and East 72nd Street. As of noon Wednesday, Troost Avenue was closed in the area of Gregory Boulevard.
Speaking to media at the scene, KCPD Chief Stacey Graves hailed the person who ran up and summoned first responders by pushing an emergency button on the officer’s radio.
”Just that citizen coming out, that got us here quicker and that might be potentially why we have a positive upgrade in our officer’s condition, because of someone coming and helping us,” she said. “That means the world to us.”
“This is an emotional time for us and it always is,” she added. “As a leader, this is what keeps me up at night, is worrying about our officers’ safety and wellness.”
‘This should have been fixed years ago’
Jennifer Hanson, a stylist at Nature’s Way Beauty Salon, which sits a few steps away from the crash scene, was among the first to find the injured officer. Crashes at Troost and 72nd are common, and this was probably the worst she had seen, she said.
“I’m praying he’s fine, hope he fully recovers and everything,” Hanson said. “I’m really tired. This should have been fixed years ago.”
The most common collisions come as a result of drivers attempting to turn from 72nd across Troost to head south, she said.
Hanson estimated that those at the salon have called about collisions two to three times a month previously.
Drivers can zip along Troost, hitting speeds of 60 mph, and sometimes the building can shake as a result, she said. She and others there are familiar with the sound of screeching tires and the thud of a collision.
Options like lower speeds or speed bumps or removing left turns sprang to mind as she reflected on solutions Wednesday.
“There’s many options they can choose from, it just needs to be done,” she said. “We are tired. We’re always the first people to call the police, always the first people to get to whoever needs assistance.”
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