A Tonganoxie man has been charged in connection with an incident that killed a Kansas City police officer, his K9 and a pedestrian. Jerron Lightfoot, 18, faces two counts of first-degree manslaughter. Court records state that he was driving an excessively speeding vehicle and ran a red light, causing the vehicular accident. Officers responded to an automobile accident in the East Truman Road and Benton Boulevard area Thursday night, according to the documents. Lightfoot was standing outside one of the crashed vehicles. The second vehicle in the crash was a marked police car. Inside the vehicle was Police Officer James Muhlbauer, who was unconscious. He was wearing a seat belt. K9 Champ was dead in the back of the car. Muhlbauer was rushed to the hospital, where he later died. Police later found the body of a male under the police vehicle. The pedestrian killed in the crash has not yet been identified. Surveillance video from the area shows that Muhlbauer was traveling eastbound on E. Truman Road and had a green light at the intersection. The dash cam video also shows the green light. The vehicle that caused the crash was traveling 85 mph before impact, court documents said. “My office spoke with the family of our victim officer Thursday night,” Jackson County Attorney Jean Peters Baker said in a statement. “We have not yet been able to meet the family of our pedestrian victim prior to this filing, but will meet with the victim’s family soon. We extend our condolences to both the bereaved families and the police department. We are grateful for the pace of work investigation by the police department that allowed us to make these allegations so quickly.”
A Tonganoxie man has been charged in connection with an incident that killed a Kansas City police officer, his K9 and a pedestrian.
Jerron Lightfoot, 18, faces two counts of first-degree manslaughter.
Court records state that he was driving an excessively speeding vehicle and ran a red light, causing the vehicular accident.
Officers responded to an automobile accident in the East Truman Road and Benton Boulevard area Thursday night, according to the documents. Lightfoot was standing outside one of the crashed vehicles. The second vehicle in the crash was a marked police car.
Inside the vehicle was Police Officer James Muhlbauer, who was unconscious. He was wearing a seat belt. K9 Champ was dead in the back of the car. Muhlbauer was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.
Police later found the body of a male under the police vehicle. The pedestrian killed in the crash has not yet been identified.
Surveillance video from the area shows that Muhlbauer was traveling eastbound on E. Truman Road and had a green light at the intersection. The dash cam video also shows the green light.
The vehicle that caused the crash was traveling 85 mph before impact, court documents said.
“My office spoke with the family of our victim officer Thursday night,” Jackson County Attorney Jean Peters Baker said in a statement. “We have not yet been able to meet the family of our pedestrian victim prior to this filing, but will meet with the victim’s family soon. We extend our condolences to both the bereaved families and the police department. We are grateful for the pace of work investigation by the police department that allowed us to make these allegations so quickly.”
