A pedestrian was struck and killed on northbound I-35 in Kansas City on Friday night, after police say the person tried to cross the busy highway lanes from east to west. The crash happened near 25th Street, where a blue Ford Escape heading north hit the pedestrian, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Emergency crews responded to the scene at northbound I-35 near 25th Street, according to police cited by KCTV. Investigators said the pedestrian was crossing the northbound lanes from east to west when the SUV struck them. First responders indicated the Ford Escape's driver and passenger were not injured in the crash.
Two northbound lanes of I-35 were closed for about three hours while police investigated, the outlet reported, before the highway reopened once the scene was cleared. As of Saturday morning, the pedestrian had not been publicly identified, and the investigation remained ongoing.
A Pattern of Deadly Pedestrian Crashes on KC Highways
This is not the only recent case of a pedestrian dying on a Kansas City-area interstate after walking into traffic lanes. Back on Sept. 25, a pedestrian was fatally struck by a northbound white Peterbilt semi truck hauling a tanker trailer on I-435 near NE 48th Street, according to The Kansas City Star. That pedestrian had also been walking in the northbound lanes when hit, and police likewise had not publicly identified the victim following that crash. All northbound lanes of I-435 were shut down at Missouri 210 Highway for around three hours during that investigation before traffic resumed.
A separate fatal crash on Oct. 29 killed a Shawnee woman on the shoulder of I-35 near the Lenexa–Overland Park border, in a case the Star reported through the Kansas Highway Patrol rather than Kansas City police. In that incident, the woman was standing by the trunk of a Honda when a Subaru struck her and the Honda from behind. She was identified as 25-year-old Katherine Allison Harrison of Shawnee, and the Subaru's driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Troopers said that investigation remained ongoing as well.
Fatal Crash Numbers Climbing This Year
Kansas City police have investigated 63 fatal crashes so far in 2026, up from 57 by the same point in 2025, per the KCTV report. A police spokesman separately told the Star in September that the I-435 semi-truck crash marked the city's 51st traffic fatality of 2026, compared with 50 traffic deaths at the same point the year before. KMBC has also reported that 68 people died in crashes on Kansas City roadways in all of 2025.
Kansas City police have been ramping up enforcement in response to the toll on local roads. During a single-day hazardous-driving crackdown on U.S. 71, officers issued 313 citations in one day alone, according to KMBC. No details on the cause of Friday's I-35 crash, potential charges, or a timeline for identifying the victim have been released, and police have not said what led the pedestrian into the northbound lanes.
