Missouri: Motorist dies when pickup crashes into the back of KC fire truck

A woman died and a man was critically injured early Saturday when their pickup truck slammed into the back of a Kansas City fire truck on Interstate 435 near Interstate 70.

The fire truck was moving toward the median on I-435 so its crew could assist at another accident scene about 3:30 a.m. when it got struck from behind.

Police reported that a police officer heading toward the original accident scene on I-435 saw a red Chevy Malibu pickup truck ahead of him rapidly leave. The officer did not try to stop the pickup but continued toward the crash scene, where he discovered that the pickup had rear-ended the fire truck.

The woman driving the pickup died at the scene. Emergency workers took a male passenger to a hospital with critical injuries. Neither was wearing a seat belt.

One firefighter was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.