Joseph Howard Jr.

Vehic/Purs

Joseph Howard Jr. was killed when his other was struck by an allegedly stolen truck fleeing police. The pursuit began when two officers saw a Dodge Ram stopped at a red light at 63rd Street and I-435 and recognized the truck as the one whose driver had eluded police earlier by turning off the headlights and driving into Swope Park. According to officials, the officers remained a few car lengths behind the truck as it continued east on 63rd Street. The officers were joined by a second police car. Neither police car had its lights or sirens on. As the truck passed James A. Reed Road, the driver turned off the headlights and sped away, running a red light on the west side of the MO-350 overpass. The truck then ran a second red light on the east side of the overpass and collided with Howard's other, which flipped over and came to rest on its side in the grass median. Howard died at a hospital. Howard's 12-year-old son suffered several non-life-threatening injuries. The officers said they did not chase the truck because ir would have violated the department's recently enacted pursuit policy. Some witness statements reportedly differed from the officers', but police didn't say how. Jackson County prosecutors charged the driver of the truck, Jeffrey A. Hodges, 34, with second-degree murder and first-degree tampering.