Two teenagers are dead after a driver being pursued by police in Iowa for kidnapping an infant in Nebraska caused a crash in Missouri, police said.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said it received a report from a woman at the Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg, Iowa, who experienced a domestic assault by a male acquaintance.
The woman told police that the man, who was “suicidal and homicidal,” kidnapped her and her child in Nebraska then drove into Iowa and dropped her off at the hospital before leaving with the baby.
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Iowa State Patrol initiated a vehicle pursuit of the man, who was traveling at a high rate of speed and attempting to run into troopers, and followed him in the southbound lanes of Interstate 29 across the state line into Missouri.
The man, who was driving a Kia Sorento, collided with a 2013 Ford Focus traveling in the northbound left lane. After being hit, the Ford passed a 2024 Volvo semi-truck, which swerved to avoid the crash and struck a 2023 Chevy Tahoe Fremont County patrol vehicle, the statement said.
Two 18-year-olds who were in the Ford Focus were pronounced dead.
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The crash caused the Kia with the 1-year-old baby inside to burst into flames.
A Fremont County deputy was able to rescue the infant from the burning vehicle and the baby was airlifted to a hospital in Omaha with non-life-threatening injuries. The man died in the crash.
Randy Pogue, mayor of Kearney, Missouri, took to social media to offer his condolences to the families of the two teens killed.
“In times of sorrow, I offer my deepest sympathies to the Cunningham and Yeates families. The loss of two Kearney Bulldogs in the traffic accident yesterday up North has shaken our community. May courage and hope be the steadfast companions of both families, friends, and all who mourn. Praying for you all,” Pogue wrote.
The deputy who was struck by the semi was treated for minor injuries and released from care.
The Missouri State Patrol is investigating the collision.
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