Kansas City police chase ends with two arrests, a three-car crash and four injured

A police chase in Kansas City ended in a three-car crash Thursday as police pursued and arrested two people suspected of armed robbery and kidnapping.

Officers attempted to stop a black VW Jetta on U.S. Highway 40 and Blue Ridge Cutoff Thursday afternoon, said Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Police Department. When the driver of the Jetta failed to stop, officers followed the car into the southbound lanes of Interstate 29, Gonzalez said.

According to Gonzalez, traffic brought the southbound lanes of I-29 to a standstill during the chase. The Jetta failed to brake for the stopped cars and crashed into a black Dodge Journey and a blue Hyundai Santa Fe before coming to a stop, Gonzalez said.

The impact of the crash threw the Santa Fe sideways onto the driver's side door, Gonzalez said.

After the driver and passenger of the Jetta were taken into police custody, both suspects, along with the drivers of the Journey and Santa Fe, were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

On average, more than three police chases occur each day in the Kansas City area, a Star investigation found earlier this year. The investigation found that police chases often escalate to speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, sometimes as high as 130 miles per hour.

The Star investigation found more than 320 people have been injured in police chases across the city in the last five years.