SUSPECT DIES IN WRONG-WAY CRASH
A series of three armed robberies occurred in the Northland in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Jan. 2.
According to the Kansas City Police Department, three different convenience stores were hit. A possible vehicle and person of interest were identified, believed to be involved in each of the incidents, according to Officer Alayna Gonzalez of the KCPD media unit.
The string of incidents began at 2:34 a.m. when a convenience store at 9901 NE Barry Road reported an armed robbery. The victim told police that an unknown male suspect entered the store armed with a weapon, demanding money.
The second armed robbery occurred in Kansas City in Platte County, at a convenience store located at 5401 NW 64th Street at 3:25 a.m. The location is on the south side of 64th Street, southwest of the Hy-Vee grocery store.
Police responded to that location on a reported panic alarm. Upon arrival, officers contacted the victim who stated he had been robbed at gunpoint by an unknown male suspect.
The third Northland incident occurred at 4:13 a.m. at a convenience store at 8801 NE Birmingham. The victim at that location stated he had been robbed at gunpoint by an unknown male suspect.
Gonzalez said at about 4:30 a.m., about 15 minutes after the third armed robbery, Kansas City police officers were in pursuit of a suspect driving a black Dodge Challenger. According to police, officers disregarded the pursuit once the Dodge began to travel southbound in the northbound lanes of I-435.
In the area of northbound I-435 and Hwy. 210, police say the southbound Dodge struck a northbound Chevrolet Equinox head-on. The driver of the Dodge and the driver of the Chevrolet were both pronounced dead at the scene, police say.
Police on Thursday identified the driver of the suspect’s vehicle as Allie L. Coldiron, age 29.
The driver of the Chevrolet Equinox killed in the crash was identified as Alphonso Carroll, age 60.
All lanes of northbound I-435 were closed to traffic at Front Street for approximately four hours.
The two fatalities were the first traffic fatalities of 2024 in Kansas City.