LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — After crashing her car into a utility pole, Leavenworth police say 25-year-old Lachelle Kemp got out of her car and instantly became entangled in downed power lines. Kemp was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after the accident.
The accident happened at the intersection of Seventh and Olive Streets just before noon on Wednesday October 16th.
Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick Kitchens said Kemp’s two young children were in the car at the time of the incident.
“Her children were in the car with her, a three-year-old boy and an infant who was born 40 days ago and we had those kids checked out at the hospital,” said Chief Kitchens.
There are concerns about the safety of the intersection, multiple streets merge with only a stop sign for the drivers on Olive Street. Chief Kitchens said that’s something that is being looked at during this investigation.
“We will look at the data over the past three years generally to see if it’s particularly dangerous compared to a different intersection in town,” said Chief Kitchens. “If we are able to make that determination then we would talk about solutions.”
Police say that if you find yourself in a situation where your car comes into contact with live powers lines, you should stay put and stay inside your car.
“In the event that that happens, the safest bet we can give you is to stay in the car until we can get there and get that power turned off, no question about it,” said Kitchens.
An autopsy was performed on Thursday, Kitchens said toxicology reports could take weeks before results are back.
