KANSAS CITY – A young Kansas man is accused of running a red light at 85mph, and causing a crash that killed a veteran Kansas City police officer, a K9 officer, and a pedestrian.
Jerron Allen Lightfoot, 18, of Tonganoxie, KS has been charged with two counts of manslaughter by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
Officer James Muhlbauer, a 20-year veteran of the KCPD, his K9 partner Champ, along with a pedestrian were killed in the crash late Wednesday evening at the intersection of Truman Road and Benton Blvd. on Kansas City's east side.
The Jackson Co. Prosecutor's office said in a release: "Video from the area of the crash, according to court records, showed the police officer was traveling eastbound at E. Truman Road and had a green light at the intersection.
A white Ford Fusion (being driven by Lightfoot) was traveling southbound on Benton Boulevard at a high rate of speed and failed to stop at the traffic signal just prior to striking the police vehicle.
In addition, the police officer's dash cam showed he had a green light as he went through the intersection just prior to the crash."
"A check of the white Ford's electronic ACM system showed the vehicle's brakes were working just prior to the crash and the vehicle was traveling at 85 mph or more just before impact," read the release.
The pedestrian killed has not yet been identified. Crash investigators say that person was killed in a secondary impact, struck by the patrol vehicle after it had been hit.