At about 2:45 a.m. today, 27-year-old Jermaine T. Banks was one of two people who was traveling in a Pontiac Trans Am, northbound on 71 Highway approaching Red Bridge Road. The Trans Am was apparently traveling at a high rate of speed when the driver lost control of the vehicle, slid across three lanes of traffic, off the east side of the roadway, and then impacted a metal guardrail. Another man in the Trans Am, a 33-year-old man, was ejected from the Trans Am upon impact with the guardrail.
The Trans Am then traveled about 200 to 250 feet before coming to rest in the #2 lane of five northbound lanes at that location. A northbound Mazda 626 rear-ended the disabled Trans Am, causing a second accident at that location, ejecting the listed victim from the struck Trans Am. The two occupants of the Trans Am were taken to an area hospital in critical condition by an ambulance. The driver of the Mazda had minor injuries but refused medical attention. The listed victim Jermaine Banks was later pronounced dead at an area hospital at 3:44 a.m. The 33-year-old man remains in critical condition. This is Kansas City's 16th traffic fatality of 2010 compared to 24 at this date in 2009.
