KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas man was charged with two counts of first-degree manslaughter for a accident that killed a pedestrian, a Kansas City police officer and its comrade K9.
According to court documents, Jerron Allen Lightfoot, 18, of Tonganoxie, Kansas, was speeding the night of the crash, ran through a red light and struck the officer’s vehicle.
Officer James Muhlbauer, a 20-year veteran of the department, e K9 officer sample they were patrolling near the intersection of Truman Road and Benton Boulevard on February 15th.
Video from the area of the crash showed the police officer was traveling eastbound on Truman Road and had a green light at the intersection. Lightfoot’s white Ford was traveling southbound on Benton Boulevard at 85 mph and went through the intersection, hitting the patrol car.
That crash caused a second collision with a pedestrian. Emergency crews declared the pedestrian dead at the scene. The identity of this person has not yet been released, but the victim was described as a man in his 50s.
The crash knocked Muhlbauer unconscious in the driver’s seat and he was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries. Champ was in the back seat of the patrol vehicle at the time of the accident. Muhlbauer later died in hospital. Champ was killed on the spot.
Lightfoot told investigators he attempted to brake at a light but was unable to slow down, estimating he was going between 50 and 55 miles per hour. Investigators looked at data from Lightfoot’s vehicle which showed he was driving at 89.7 miles per hour 1.5 seconds before the crash and that his brakes were working.
He denied drinking or using drugs before the crash, but investigators took a mouth swab. Those findings were not available in the billing document.
Muhlbauer’s funeral has not yet been announced.
