KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, police found a telecommunications contractor's truck and trailer after it was stolen near the Country Club Plaza with two workers still inside it.
Police said officers were dispatched to 46th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue for a rolling disturbance shortly after midnight Tuesday. Around the same time, officers were also dispatched to 44th Street and Holly Street in regard to a crash.
Police said two workers for K&W Underground were working on fiber optic cables under the road at 47th Street and Pennsylvania when a suspect jumped into the truck and started to drive away. The workers were inside the back of a 17-foot enclosed trailer working on cable connections at the time.
The truck sped east on 47th Street and then headed north on Broadway Boulevard with the workers still inside the trailer. Police said the suspect hit at least 10 cars while driving away.
Police said the workers were able to escape when the truck T-boned a parked car at 44th and Holly. It then sped north on Holly.
Ken Williams was watching TV when he heard a loud crash outside.
"Looked out my bedroom window and saw a white pickup truck with a white trailer attached to it that was going the wrong way up Holly," Williams said.
He said the workers seemed shaken, but they were adamant about getting back to their site to secure everything and finish the job.
"Considering the circumstances I was really impressed that they were still most concerned with getting their job done," Williams said.
On the drive back, the workers described their experience in the trailer.
"They said it felt like they were just being bounced around back and forth off of cars all the way up the nine-block distance," Williams said.
Police said the two workers were not seriously hurt.
Williams said he's lived in the area for nearly 20 years and has never seen so many cars damaged during the same crime, but it did not surprise him that it happened.
"We really need more police patrols on the street," Williams said. "We need more detectives investigating crime, and property crimes need to be prosecuted and the penalties need to be higher. Until that happens I don't think we're going to see a decrease in property crime."
Officers retraced the route of the stolen truck and trailer to find the numerous vehicles hit. Police said it's unclear exactly how many vehicles have been damaged.
Police said the truck was recovered near 37th and Wyoming, and the trailer was recovered at 34th and Wyoming.
No suspects are in custody.
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