KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One person died from injuries suffered in a crash Friday morning that that caused a major backup on westbound Interstate 70.
Kansas City, Missouri, police confirmed later Friday morning that the driver in the single-vehicle crash, which happened shortly before 7:30 a.m., died from his injuries.
The wreck occurred near the East 23rd Street overpass when a white Jeep Liberty traveling "at a high rate of speed" lost control, crossed three lanes of traffic and slammed into the concrete median, according to police.
Two sections of the concrete barrier that divides the westbound and eastbound lanes were knocked over in the crash, KCPD said.
The Jeep went airborne, rotated and ejected the driver before striking a concrete pillar that supports the 23rd Street overpass. The driver was found on the left shoulder of I-70 and the vehicle came to a rest on its roof in the inside passing lane, police said in a release about the crash.
All lanes of westbound I-70 were closed at Jackson Avenue with first responders on the scene, creating a massive traffic jam for commuters headed downtown.
The interstate closure caused traffic to back up for several miles back to the I-70/I-435 interchange just west of the Truman Sports Complex.
Westbound I-70 reopened around 9 a.m., according to KCPD.
KCPD has not identified the person who was killed, but said he was pronounced dead at a local hospital after the crash.
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