A single-vehicle crash shut down part of southbound I-29 near the I-435 split Friday afternoon, leaving one person seriously injured after their car veered off the roadway and slammed into a bridge pillar. The driver was the vehicle's only occupant and was rushed to a local hospital, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Crews with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said the car left the roadway and struck a bridge pillar at the 14.0 mile marker on southbound I-29, as reported by KCTV. Before fire crews could reach the scene, multiple vehicles stopped to try to help the driver, according to the Kansas City Fire Department. The Highway Patrol said it is assisting the Kansas City Police Department with the investigation into the crash.
Lanes Closed as Crews Worked the Scene
The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Kansas City Police Department responded to the area of southbound I-29 near Cookingham Drive around 3 p.m. Friday, according to KMBC. Both southbound lanes were shut down while investigators worked the scene, the station reported.
Southbound I-29 was closed at Cookingham Drive in Kansas City due to an incident. The closure was reported around 2:45 p.m. The crash remains under investigation, KMBC reported.
A Separate Crash Underscores Stretch's Dangers
The Friday crash comes amid other recent trouble along the same interstate. In a separate collision on I-29, Kansas City police said officers were called around 12:45 p.m. to a crash at Interstate 29 and U.S. 169 Highway, according to a report from KSHB. Officers said a Ford F-150 had been weaving in and out of southbound traffic before it left the right side of the roadway and struck the leading edge of a steel guardrail.
In that incident, the unrestrained driver was taken to an area hospital with critical injuries, the outlet reported. That investigation also remains ongoing, according to the same report. No connection between the two crashes has been established, and the circumstances leading up to Friday's crash near Cookingham Drive have not been detailed by investigators.
