Updated: Tuesday, May 16, 3:45 p.m.
A 17-year-old from Shawnee faces criminal charges in connection to a wreck Sunday that left one person dead and another in critical condition.
The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday afternoon announced the male teen was being charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of aggravated battery/great harm and a third count of juvenile firearm possession.
Johnson County DA Steve Howe’s office has filed a motion seeking to try the teen as an adult.
On Tuesday, a Johnson County judge issued an order removing the teen from his parents’ custody and committing him to a juvenile detention facility.
That order is set to be reviewed in a hearing Friday, May 19.
The Post typically does not name defendants under 18 years of age in criminal cases unless they are prosecuted as an adult.
First update:
Shawnee Police have identified the person killed in a multi-vehicle wreck Sunday as 71-year-old Leland Scott of Shawnee.
Scott was the driver of a Ford SUV that investigators say was one of two vehicles rear-ended while waiting at a traffic light at Lackman Road and Blackfish Parkway late Sunday afternoon, when a third vehicle plowed into them.
A 69-year-old passenger in Scott’s SUV remains hospitalized in critical condition, according to police.
A 17-year-old from Shawnee has been taken into custody “pending review of the case by the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office,” a Shawnee Police statement says.
Original story continues below:
One person is dead and another hospitalized in critical condition following a wreck in Shawnee late Sunday afternoon.
Shawnee Police also took a teenager into custody at the scene following the fatal crash, which ultimately involved three vehicles.
In a news release, Shawnee Police said they were called to the Blackfish Parkway and Lackman Road intersection at 4:31 p.m.
Firefighters from Shawnee and Lenexa responded along with Johnson County Med-Act paramedics.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered multiple vehicles were involved and began rendering first aid to some of the occupants,” Captain Matt Seichepine said in the release. “The driver of one of the involved vehicles sustained fatal injuries, and the passenger of that vehicle was transported to the hospital in critical condition.”
At the scene, Traffic Safety Unit Sergeant Nick Shurmantine told the Post that all three vehicles were eastbound on Blackfish Parkway.
Shurmantine says two of the vehicles — a Ford SUV and Acura passenger car — were stopped for a red light at Lackman Road when they were rear-ended by a third vehicle, a Lexus car.
The driver of the Ford SUV died at the scene. A passenger in that same SUV was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
The driver of an Acura passenger car was not injured.
The driver of the Lexus, described in radio traffic as a “juvenile,” was put through sobriety tests at the scene before being placed in handcuffs and then driven away in the backseat of a police vehicle.
Police say the department’s Traffic Safety Unit continues to investigate, and they will release additional information when it becomes available.
Check back with this report for updates.
Mike Frizzell is a freelance crime and fire reporter who runs Operation 100 News.
