A high-speed chase that began as a routine traffic stop ended tragically in Wyandotte County, resulting in the death of a Kansas City man and serious injuries to his passenger. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the incident began on the afternoon of December 27 when a Leavenworth sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a truck for a registration violation on County Road #1 around 4:45 p.m. However, the driver fled, leading authorities to call off the pursuit as the vehicle headed onto Interstate 70.
The Kansas Highway Patrol later took over the chase, learning that the truck was stolen. As the driver, 31-year-old Brian Trober of Kansas City, Kansas, exited eastbound I-70 onto southbound I-635, he lost control of the vehicle, struck a guardrail, and overturned. The truck then slid down a rock embankment before landing in a ditch. The crash occurred about 20 minutes after the initial traffic stop.
Trober was pronounced dead at the scene, while his passenger was transported to a hospital with serious injuries. No law enforcement officers were injured during the pursuit or the crash.
