Driver Identified in Fatal Excelsior Springs Hit-and-Run After Weeklong Investigation

EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. — One week after 35-year-old Mary Levingston of Kansas City was found dead along Fredericksburg Road, Excelsior Springs Police say they have identified the driver and vehicle involved in the fatal hit-and-run. On Thursday, detectives interviewed the woman believed to have been behind the wheel, who is not being publicly identified at this time.

With assistance from the Richmond Police Department, investigators collected key pieces of physical evidence, including a portion of the SUV’s front bumper, which has been sent for forensic testing. The case is now being prepared for the Ray County Prosecutor’s Office, which will determine whether the incident will result in criminal charges or be classified as a traffic fatality without prosecution.

Levingston’s Final Walk Through Golf Hill

Shortly before she was struck, Levingston had been spotted walking through the Golf Hill neighborhood after leaving a nearby residence. Multiple neighbors called 911, reporting her behavior as “erratic” or “suspicious.”

Video from neighborhood doorbell cameras later confirmed those reports, showing Levingston appearing unsteady and potentially intoxicated. Police say her movements that afternoon were unusual and raised concern among several residents. Toxicology results, expected to take several weeks, will help investigators understand what role, if any, impairment played.

Police were already en route to the Golf Hill neighborhood when, at 5:59 p.m., another 911 caller reported what appeared to be a body in the roadway in the 1000 block of Fredericksburg Road. Officers arrived within minutes and found Levingston deceased on the shoulder.

Police Chief Gregory Dull said early medical examiner findings show Levingston died from blunt force trauma to the head, injuries that were consistent with being struck by a vehicle. Based on the location and isolation of the injuries, detectives believe Levingston may have been lying in the roadway at the time she was hit.

Narrowing Down the Suspects

Using a traffic camera positioned near where Levingston was found, detectives pulled a list of vehicles that traveled the corridor around the likely time of impact. Because Fredericksburg Road is not heavily traveled, the pool of potential suspect vehicles narrowed quickly to three.

Two were eliminated almost immediately. Both belonged to drivers who had called 911 after seeing what they believed was a body in the roadway. Detectives interviewed both individuals and inspected their vehicles, ruling them out.

That left detectives with one remaining vehicle from the initial camera review, a minivan that had passed through the area around the time Levingston was struck. Investigators located the driver that same night, interviewed them, and photographed and forensically tested the vehicle. The driver had no recollection of striking anything, and the van showed no evidence of a collision.

With all three initially identified vehicles cleared, detectives began gathering additional footage from neighborhood doorbell cameras, hoping something outside the initial review might reveal a new lead.

A Flicker of Light Breaks Open the Case

With doorbell footage offering no new clues, detectives returned to the city’s video systems for a deeper review. That was when a small detail changed everything.

During the second, more intensive pass through the footage, an investigator noticed a faint flicker of reflected light that had gone overlooked the first night. After zooming in and enhancing the video, the team identified a different vehicle entirely, an SUV that had not been part of the original investigation, with distinctive taillight and wheel details. What had once been only a glimmer on a shadowy roadway was now a traceable path investigators could follow.

As officers reviewed additional video sources, the same SUV appeared repeatedly throughout the area, each angle revealing more about its direction of travel. Eventually, detectives captured a clear view of the rear license plate. But the revelation only raised more questions. The plate was valid, but it did not belong to the SUV. Instead, the tag was registered to an Infiniti tied to a residential address in Richmond.

Detectives Close In

Once the plate was traced to the Richmond residence, detectives at ESPD contacted the Richmond Police Department to request a check of the property. Officers checked the address and confirmed that a Chevy Tahoe, consistent with the Flock images, was parked in the road near the residence.

On Wednesday, November 18, Excelsior Springs detectives traveled to Richmond, photographed the vehicle, and spoke briefly with the Richmond woman believed to have been driving it. They returned the next morning with additional investigators and the department’s evidence technician. The woman agreed to speak with them again and, according to officers, confirmed she had driven the Fredericksburg route on the day Levingston was killed. She also told detectives she believed she had run off the road, but was uncertain if she had struck anything.

Detectives collected DNA samples and evidence swabs and removed a portion of the Tahoe’s front bumper for forensic testing. The driver later came to the Excelsior Springs Police Department for a formal interview. A passenger who had been inside the SUV that day was also interviewed separately.

Commitment to the Community

Police Chief Gregory Dull said the case represents a combination of advanced technology, interagency collaboration, and extensive investigative work by Excelsior Springs detectives. He noted that identifying the vehicle and locating the driver was possible only because of the department’s methodical approach and the partnership of neighboring agencies. “We remain committed to seeking justice for Ms. Levingston and her family,” Dull said.

Lt. Ryan Dowdy echoed that commitment, adding that investigators have devoted significant time and resources over the past week. “Our officers have really been putting in a lot of hours trying to solve this,” Dowdy said. “We do not take it lightly when one of our community members passes away. We owe it to their family and to our community to conduct a thorough investigation and let the evidence lead us to the answer.”

Dowdy said the driver has been cooperative throughout the investigation, which helped move the case forward more quickly than expected. “Her cooperation sped up the whole process,” he said. “Without it, we likely would have needed multiple search warrants and had to wait for lab results that can take weeks or even months.”

Chief Dull added that the Excelsior Springs Police Department is grateful to the Richmond Police Department and Kansas City Police Department for their assistance, as well as to members of the public who submitted tips through the TIPS Hotline. Investigators continue to gather and process evidence, and the completed case file will be submitted to the Ray County Prosecutor’s Office for review.

Awaiting the Prosecutor’s Decision

Detectives are now finishing the supplementary reports, timeline reconstruction, and forensic documentation needed to close out the investigative phase of the case. Once those materials are complete, the full file will be forwarded to the Ray County Prosecutor’s Office for review. Prosecutors will then decide whether the facts support a criminal charge for leaving the scene of a fatal crash, or whether Mary Levingston’s death will ultimately be classified as a tragic accident.

Police say they are confident they have identified both the vehicle and the woman involved. For now, the question of whether charges will be filed rests entirely with prosecutors, who will weigh the evidence and determine the next steps.