Excelsior Springs, Mo. – Three people were hospitalized early Saturday morning after a high-speed crash sent their vehicle airborne, launching off Linwood Ave./Wildwood Street and crashing through the roof of the Veterans Association building in Excelsior Springs.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. on February 15, Excelsior Springs Police were headed west, patrolling on 10 Highway/Kearney Road, when a vehicle sped past in the opposite direction at an extremely high rate of speed. As ESPD turned around to pursue the vehicle, it had already disappeared from sight.
As the pursuing officer came down St. Louis Ave., descending Job Corps Hill, they noticed debris scattered across the roadway, including tree branches. As they investigated further, they made the startling discovery—the vehicle had gone airborne and crashed through the roof of the Veterans Association building.
The car, estimated to be traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph, went straight off Kearney Road/10 Hwy, accelerating down Linwood, then bounced off Wildwood Street and launched through the air. The vehicle traveled more than 150 feet through the air and cleared St. Louis Avenue entirely before penetrating the roof of the American Legion building. On its way down the hill, the vehicle narrowly missed utility poles and large trees, and it even cleared the guard rail/fence between St. Louis Ave. and the building.
Miraculously, the building was unoccupied at the time. American Legion representative Chris Stull noted that Friday nights typically host bingo events, and had the crash occurred during a gathering, the consequences could have been catastrophic.
Emergency responders arrived to find three occupants involved in the crash. Two of them had managed to climb out of the wrecked vehicle and onto the roof of the building, where they were rescued by first responders. The third occupant, who sustained severe injuries, remained trapped inside and had to be carefully extricated from the wreckage.
All three individuals were transported to the hospital by EMS. The driver, described as a male in his 20s, was accompanied by two teenage passengers.
The crash remains under investigation, but authorities suspect the driver may have been intoxicated.
Due to the vehicle’s precarious position within the wreckage, specialized equipment was dispatched to extract it from the building. It arrived on the scene at around 4:30 a.m., and the vehicle was removed from the building by 6:30 a.m.
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