Driver allegedly killed three people in wrong-way accident on I-29

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hours after a wrong-way driver crash on Interstate 29, the killed three people in Platte County early Thursday morningA deputy sheriff used a drone to find the suspect, who was accused of leaving the scene, hiding in a bean field.

Missouri Highway Patrol officers then took 34-year-old Kyle Mendez into custody, and prosecutors charged him with three counts of vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run.

The crash occurred shortly after midnight Thursday in the southbound lanes of I-29 south of Dearborn. Highway patrol identified the victims as 52-year-old Michelet Metellus and 54-year-old Sheyla Similien, who were riding in a Honda Odyssey van, and 55-year-old Joel Similien, who was driving the van.

According to court documents, Mendez was driving a Ford Edge SUV and four other people were hospitalized in the crash. Highway patrol told FOX4 that Mendez is also hospitalized with serious injuries.

The documents further state that witnesses called 911 to say they saw a driver cross the median and head north in the southbound lanes of the highway. Officers and police officers who arrived at the scene found paramedics treating people outside the van, and the three victims found inside the van were pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said Mendez left the scene of the accident and officers used a drone and a sniffer dog to try to find him, but after about four hours of searching, they were initially unsuccessful.

Around 8 a.m., according to the sheriff’s office, Another deputy went to the scene and flew a drone along a line of trees west of the highway and found Mendez holding on to a bean field with a stick.

In court documents, investigators detail that they traced the vehicle he allegedly drove to an address in Kansas City, Kansas, where the owner told them that Mendez took it without permission and did not return it.

He was taken to a hospital and agreed to be interviewed. According to a probable cause statement, he admitted to driving the SUV and being involved in the accident.

He said he was driving to St. Joseph, but then changed his plans and pulled into the median. He thought he was turning onto a two-lane road, but was actually driving north in the southbound lanes. He told investigators he realized he was going the wrong way just before the crash and he checked on the people in the van before running from the scene. He ran because he didn’t think anyone would believe his story.

Investigators are awaiting his arrest warrants, including for his blood and DNA tests. He will be treated for his injuries and, once released, will be taken to jail, where he will initially be held without bail, according to a complaint. No court date is yet listed for him in online records.