Update 3/22 at 4:30 p.m.: Brian Moyer of Independence has been charged with manslaughter and child endangerment in connection with the March 17 crash that resulted in the death of two boys, ages 6 and 10.
While investigating the crash, police discovered Moyer was involved in a hit and run near Truman Road and Hardesty Avenue earlier in the day. While fleeing the scene, Moyer's vehicle crashed, ejecting the driver and two passengers.
Police said no safety child restraints were used at the time of the crash.
Moyer faces two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and driving while license was suspended.
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Original story: Two children were killed in a crash Friday morning near Sheffield Park in the city's northeast section.
Officers responded to the crash on 12th and Ewing around 11:30 a.m.
The gruesome crash brought tears to Cynthia Peguero.
She was one of the first to see the four victims, including two young boys.
“The one that was pretty bad he was coughing blood out of his mouth, so it was pretty bad,” Peguero said.
Witnesses told 41 Action News the victims were traveling in a gray car that rear-ended a white Cadillac on Truman Road. The drivers agreed to pull over and exchange information, but the driver of the gray car sped away. He lost control at Newton Avenue and hit a utility pole and then tumbled into a yard.
The impact ejected him and the two boys in the back seat, police said.
Gloria Orozco, a trained nurse, rendered first aid to one of the boys before paramedics arrived.
“One of the children was thrown behind the car, the other one was here to the side and I went to the one that was most injured,” Orozco told 41 Action News in Spanish.
Josefina Zavala, a mother of four, ran from her house across the street to help.
“I stayed with the other one because I couldn't imagine my kids being alone on the ground and nobody get close to them not even to talk to them or anything,” Zavala said.
Police said the boys died at Children’s Mercy Hospital. They are the 19th and 20th traffic fatalities of this year compared to eight this time last year.
According to police, no one in the gray car had a seat restraint.
“We have got to make sure that we are wearing our seatbelts and making sure that our children are in safety seats, booster seats, or car seats. Seatbelts save lives,” Sgt. Kari Thompson, a KCPD spokeswoman, said.
The driver and passenger, a woman, are in the hospital in serious condition.
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