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Woman faces charge in fatal hit-and-run in KU Cancer Center garage

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Updated: Friday, March 29, 2 p.m.

A 24-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, woman has been charged for her role in Thursday morning’s fatal hit-and-run at the Westwood campus of the University of Kansas Cancer Center.

Johnson County Sheriff’s Office booking records show Kelsi Ann Carmack was arrested at 1 p.m. on Thursday and booked into the adult detention center at 3:15 p.m.

Carmack faces a felony charge of failure to stop at an accident scene with a known death.

In a statment, a University of Kansas Health System spokesperson indicated Carmack was an employee of the system.

“Employees and health system leaders are feeling what many in our community are experiencing shock and extreme sadness in this moment,” Jill Chadwick, the spokesperson, said in the statement. “We are dedicated to helping and healing patients, and so the news that this accident involved an employee is especially tragic to us on many levels.

“We are providing counselors to anyone and everyone at the cancer center that feels a need. Our thoughts are with the families of all involved in this tragic accident.”

She made her first court appearance on Friday afternoon, where she requested a public defender to represent her at future court appearances. Her bond was set at $7,500.

Carmack’s next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, at 10 a.m.

Original story continues below: 

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a deadly hit-and-run that occurred early Thursday morning at the University of Kansas Cancer Center campus in Westwood.

Recorded radio traffic from Johnson County Med-Act and Consolidated Fire District No. 2 indicates that a man was found on the second level of the parking garage, on the north side of the facility at 2650 Shawnee Mission Pkwy., just before 7:50 a.m.

Paramedics and firefighters were initially dispatched for a life-threatening medical emergency.

As those units were responding, the call type was changed to a vehicle versus pedestrian crash.

McKenzi Davis, Public Information Officer for the Sheriff’s Office, said they were notified of the death at about 7:52 a.m. on Thursday.

Westwood Police, which does not have its own unit to investigate traffic-related incidents, requested assistance from the sheriff’s office in this case.

The Sheriff’s Office Accident Investigation Team, Crime Scene Investigations and Detective Unit then responded to the accident scene.

“A single vehicle with one driver was driving in the parking garage when a male was struck and died from his injuries,” Davis said in a news release on Thursday afternoon. “The driver of the vehicle left the scene of the accident but was later located and taken in for questioning.”

The pedestrian has been identified as William J. Ward, 94, of Leawood.

In a news release, the University of Kansas Health System acknowledged that a pedestrian was struck and killed in the Westwood parking garage.

The hospital system released no other statement or details, only directing questions to the Sheriff’s Office.

No other details were immediately available.

About the author

Mike Frizzell
Mike Frizzell

Mike Frizzell is a freelance crime and fire reporter who runs Operation 100 News.

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