Three inmates at the Platte County Jail on Saturday night used a piece of hacksaw blade to saw their way through the metal bars of their cell, broke out a second floor window of the courthouse and hit the ground running. Authorities were speculating the inmates had smuggled the piece of hacksaw blade inside tennis shoes. The three escapees, after stealing a car from a rural Platte City residence, were captured a couple of hours later following a car chase that involved four law enforcement agencies. The three men had forced their way into an occupied residence about a mile east of Platte City along Hwy. 92. They stole a 1977 Oldsmobile from the family of three and fled in the direction of Smithville.
Students at Platte County R-3 High School were the first at the scene of a fatal alcohol-related crash last week. One was found dead at the scene with a severed arm. Two others were seriously injured. The three students had been passengers in a car driven by a senior, who was arrested by Sgt. Bill Taylor with the Platte County Sheriff’s Department for DUI. The two vehicles collided head-on. Luckily this tragic scene was only a simulation called “Operation Graduation.” Coordinated by Bob McGee with St. Luke’s Northland Hospital, the program is designed to show students the consequences of drinking and driving.
