Charges Filed in Wrong-Way Accident that Killed Two

By EDWARD M. EVELD The Kansas City Star A Belton woman killed with her daughter by an SUV headed the wrong way on Interstate 435 this morning “had very little time to react,” a Kansas City police officer said. The accident occurred at highway speeds and the woman and daughter, a passenger, died instantly, he said. Police have identified the victims as Diane Bronson, 44, and Anna Bronson, 11, of Belton. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced the filing of two felony counts of involuntary manslaughter against the driver of the SUV. Authorities are still attempting to confirm his identity but believe he is an 18-year-old from Kansas City, Kan. The man’s blood alcohol tested .185, above the legal limit, two hours after the accident, according to court documents Sgt. Jim Fuller said the Bronsons were in a black Chevrolet Impala rounding a curve in the fast lane of the interstate when they were hit by a white Mercury Mountaineer, which was going south in the northbound lanes. The collision near 63rd Street about 8:35 a.m. was nearly head-on, he said, with the vehicles hitting each other on the drivers’ sides. The man driving the Mountaineer was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. He is expected to survive, Fuller said. The Mountaineer driver reportedly had been heading the wrong way first on Interstate 70 near downtown and then on I-435. The accident shut down northbound I-435 for several hours. | Edward M. Eveld, eeveld@kcstar.com