A high-speed chase in Northland ended in flames Saturday when a Kansas City man crashed on a freeway exit ramp while reportedly trying to elude officers.
At 1 a.m. Saturday morning, a Platte County sheriff’s deputy attempted to pull over Christopher Fry, 23, as Fry drove south on Interstate 29 near Highway 152. Fry failed to stop as directed, instead swerving into other lanes and fleeing south in his 2017 Dodge Challenger, court documents said.
The officer began following Fry’s car near Northwest Tiffany Springs Road, according to charging documents and Capt. Jeffrey Shanks, a spokesman for the Platte County Sheriff’s Department. He pursued Fry in the car for about two miles, according to court documents, but stopped when he lost sight of the Challenger around Barry Road.
According to court documents, Fry fled from officers at more than 100 miles per hour, reaching a top speed of 134 miles per hour. Charging documents did not specify how fast the deputy was driving during the brief chase.
Moments after the chase ended, another officer was flagged down by a passerby who found the wreckage of the Challenger on fire at the bottom of the southbound I-29 exit ramp to 72nd St., Shanks said.
“The vehicle was completely destroyed when our officers arrived on scene,” Shanks said Monday.
According to court documents, officers believe Fry was in a car accident while driving off the exit ramp at a high rate of speed.
Fry was arrested at the scene of the crash and taken to a local hospital, then to the Platte County Jail after being medically cleared to leave. One passenger was found near the Challenger and was hospitalized with injuries that Shanks described as “serious, possibly critical.”
Saturday’s accident was one of 197 traffic crashes reported by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department this year, state data shows.
A Star investigation published in March found that more than 320 people have been injured in police pursuits in the metro area over the past five years. The study also found that police pursuits in the Kansas City area routinely exceed 100 miles per hour.
When it comes to sheriff’s deputies conducting pursuits, Platte County’s policy is much more relaxed than in nearby Jackson County. The Platte County Sheriff’s Office has two deputies dedicated to traffic enforcement full-time.
In 2022, the most recent year with complete data, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office recorded 93 pursuits. That same year, there were 2 pursuits by sheriff’s deputies recorded in Jackson County, while sheriff’s offices in Cass and Clay County recorded 54 and 108 pursuits, respectively.
The Platte County Prosecutor’s Office charged Fry with creating a risk of serious injury or death by resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. He was also charged with reckless driving of a motor vehicle, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty to both charges Monday.
Fry is being held on $8,500 bail, according to court documents. He is next scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Aug. 20 for a bail hearing.
