KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An Independence man has been charged with murder in connection with a fatal crash that happened Monday. Independence police say they chased 22-year-old Andrew Stark’s vehicle into Kansas City, but stopped the high-speed chase minutes before he crashed into a car with three people.
As Stark faces a list of charges ranging from second-degree murder to leaving the scene of an accident, a 35-year-old woman and mother of four is fighting for her life. Police released dash cam video of some of the chase the led up to the crash on Monday.
The video reveals a silver car speed past a Jeep as it turns on Hall Avenue. Independence police say the driver weaving in and out of traffic in a silver Saab was Stark. Police say Stark was clocked at over 100 mph and behind the wheel on a revoked license.
You can hear a police officer call into dispatch saying he stopped the chase. Seconds later, the officer stops at a light on Topping and minutes later he comes up to the accident scene on 23rd and Hardesty.
Police say Stark ran a red light, and the impact of the resulting crash killed the driver of a Chevrolet passenger car, 35-year-old Jason Lewis. Jessica Acoff, a friend of the victim, said Lewis leaves behind a wife and several children. She’s also upset that police initially chased Stark.
“I don’t think they should have chased him. There are other ways they could have done research to find him and I don’t think the chase was the best option in this case,” Acoff said.
Vangallane Williams said her sister, 35-year-old Vanetta Williams, was a passenger in Lewis’ car and she’s now on life support. She suffered broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a concussion, a broken pelvis and a fractured arm and shoulder.
“Right now she has tubes, breathing machines, everything around her, so she’s really on life support because she’s not breathing on her own. She can’t breathe without that tube,” Williams said.
Venetta’s mother, Dorothy Lee, said it was hard seeing her daughter hooked up to a machine, but she’s hopeful she’ll make a full recovery.
“I just hope that she is able to heal herself, get better and be able to come back home so she can be here for her kids,” Lee said.
The other person in the vehicle was Vanetta’s 17-year-old daughter, Sharaya King, who’s being treated for a broken pelvis. As the two victims remain in the hospital, Stark is being held in jail on a 250,000 bond.
