RIVERSIDE OFFICER WAS RESPONDING TO CRASH
A pedestrian has died eight days after being struck in a crash that occurred in icy road conditions and involved a City of Riverside Police Department vehicle.
According to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report, the crash happened on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 16 on the northbound Interstate 635 ramp to northbound Hwy. 9 at 6:39 a.m.
A Toyota 4 Runner was stopped on the left shoulder of the ramp due to another motor vehicle crash blocking the ramp. According to Sgt. Bill Lowe of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, a Riverside Police Department vehicle was responding to that crash. As the Riverside police vehicle–a 2021 Ford Explorer–arrived on the scene, the vehicle began to slide on the ice-covered roadway, according to the patrol’s report.
According to the highway patrol’s report, the Riverside Police Department vehicle, driven by officer Jacob T. Orr, 23, of Kansas City, struck two pedestrians, throwing one of the pedestrians from the overpass. The police vehicle then traveled off the left side of the roadway, striking the bridge rail and the rear of the Toyota 4 Runner.
The highway patrol report says the pedestrian who was knocked from the overpass died from his injuries more than a week later, on Friday, Feb. 24. Jacob T. Alford, age 25, of Shawnee, Kan. died at Northcare Hospice House in North Kansas City Hospital, according to the highway patrol.
Alford had been transported by EMS to North Kansas City Hospital immediately after the crash.
The second pedestrian who was struck is identified in the highway patrol report as Paul I. Gomez, age 62, of Kansas City, Kan. He was not injured, according to the report.
Det. Shaun Zufelt, who serves as public information officer for the Riverside Police Department, confirmed that the department’s vehicle was involved in the crash. Zufelt referred other questions to the highway patrol, the investigating agency for the crash.
The highway patrol’s investigation of the incident is continuing.
