KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was a tough Saturday for the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department as they investigate the death of one of their own.
An early morning traffic accident near 66th and Troost split Michael Chou’s car in half. Chou, 29, was also known as Ying-An. Police said Chou worked at the Crime Lab there as a crime scene technician. They said Chou had been with the department for two years.
Sgt. DeEtta Jacobs with accident investigations said the police do have a suspect in custody. However, that has brought little comfort as the department is mourning Chou’s loss.
“He’s a part of our family. It’s definitely different when you know the person because you remember them alive and you have those things to draw upon,” Jacobs told FOX 4 News.
Police said the accident happened around 3:00 a.m. They said Chou was just leaving work in his Honda Civic.
“A black BMW was northbound on Troost at a high rate of speed and it impacted the side of the civic. The civic ended up in two pieces,” Jacobs said.
Officers said it’s unclear how fast the driver of the black BMW was going, but know it was way more than the posted speed limit of 35 miles per hour.
“It’s one of the most significant splitting of a car that I have seen. Usually when they split, the two pieces, I haven’t seen them travel that far apart,” Jacobs said.
Police said Larneal D. Davis, 28, of Independence, Mo. and the suspected driver of the other vehicle involved in the crash, fled on foot and was later arrested. Officers at the scene of Davis’ arrest reported that they detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath. Davis has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in Chou’s death.
He’s being held on a $300,000 bond.
Meanwhile, Chou’s colleagues have taken to Facebook to express their sorrow. Some have changed their profile pictures to the “Thin Blue Line,” which symbolizes the protection they try to provide between good and bad.
The police department updated its Facebook status, posting, “Today we mourn the death of CSI Technician Michael Chou, 29. He was killed last night as he pulled out of the Crime Lab parking lot by a car traveling at an excessive rate of speed down Troost. Michael was going home after his shift when his car was struck. He had worked at KCPD for two years. Please keep his loved ones and coworkers in your thoughts and prayers. The driver of the car that killed him is in custody, and investigation continues.”
Police said the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department is helping to process some of the evidence from the scene as to avoid a conflict of interest.
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