A Lenexa man was sentenced to about seven years in prison for causing a fatal hit-and-run that killed an Olathe South High School student.
On Sept. 17, Matthew Bray, 50, was sentenced Thursday to 52 months for aggravated battery while driving under the influence and seven months for failure to stop at an accident. The sentences will be served consecutively.
He was also sentenced to 23 months for indecent solicitation in a separate child sex crime case. That will also be served consecutively.
Bray faced the original charges for causing a chain reaction hit-and-run crash on I-35 in the summer of 2024 that injured a woman and ultimately led to the death of Benjamin “Ben” Van Buskirk, 17, an Olathe South teen, who had stopped to help.
Judge Neil B. Foth handed down the sentence.
Bray caused a fatal chain reaction crash in 2024
At about 2 a.m. on July 27, 2024, investigators say Bray was driving a silver Kia Sorento at nearly 90 miles per hour on a stretch of I-35 in Merriam that has a 60-mile-per-hour speed limit when he struck a red Chevrolet Equinox, according to court documents.
The crash caused multiple injuries to the driver of the Equinox, including a laceration on their forehead and eyebrow, a broken nose and a pulmonary contusion.
As a result of the crash, their car was disabled on the left lane of traffic on the highway. Meanwhile, Bray fled the scene in his vehicle, court documents say.
As they were heading home, Benjamin “Ben” Van Buskirk, an Olathe South teen, and a friend saw the disabled vehicle and stopped to render aid. As Van Buskirk got out and ran to help the driver, a Jeep Liberty hit the Equinox and then drifted across the road, fatally striking Van Buskirk.
The driver of the Jeep Liberty, whose name was redacted in court documents, said they did not see the Equinox disabled on the road until it was too late to avoid striking it.
After Kansas State Highway Patrol troopers found the registered address for the Sorento’s owner, Bray’s mother, the vehicle was towed. After it was seized, Bray called investigators to identify himself as the driver involved in the crash, according to court documents.
A friend of Bray’s said hours before the crash, they were drinking with him at a bar in Belton, Missouri, court documents stated.
Bray also made inappropriate contact with a minor
In a separate case, Bray was sentenced for indecent solicitation after contacting a minor to request photos of her feet.
On June 23, 2024, just a month before the deadly hit-and-run crash, a Johnson County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a call of a juvenile who was lost.
After the deputy located the girl, who court records do not identify by name but say was born in 2014, the deputy drove the child back to her home address.
When they arrived at her home, the 10-year-old girl told the deputy about an older man, later identified as Bray, who was staying at her grandfather’s home. While intoxicated, Bray made the child feel uncomfortable when he began touching her feet and asking her to send him a foot video, according to Johnson County court documents.
The girl told the deputy that she had seen him do similar things with Bray’s girlfriend’s daughter, who was around 8 or 9 years old, court documents stated.
Bray later communicated with the alleged victim via Facebook and asked her for a video of her feet, which she refused to do.
Upon hearing her testimony, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for Bray’s Facebook account and discovered that he belonged to a number of foot fetish groups, court documents stated.
Van Buskirk’s family honors Ben’s life
Van Buskirk had a passion for animals, sports, music and making people laugh, according to his obituary.
Known as a funny, selfless person, Van Buskirk died while helping a friend, which speaks to his character, Paula Baird, the person in the vehicle he was trying to help told Fox 4 News in 2024.
“He truly went out a soldier, and it’s hard to say that,” Baird said. “After that initial crash, my lights were completely out, and I was in the fast lane. Nobody could see me, so I feel like they must’ve seen Ben running to my help and maybe swerved, maybe slowed down. My condolences (go out) so so much to his family.”
In her victim impact statement, Carrie Van Buskirk, Ben’s mother, said they have been overwhelmed with grief.
“Every member of our family and countless friends and community members received a life sentence the day Ben died, a life absent from him,” she said.
She also praised his heroism.
“Ben acted courageously and selflessly in the moment. He wasn’t taking risks for himself. He wasn’t behaving recklessly. He stopped because he witnessed someone in danger whom he believed required immediate help,” she said.
While she struggles with forgiving Bray, Carrie said she knows that’s what Ben would have wanted.
“That was simply who Ben was, a sweet forgiving soul. I am not there yet. I don’t know if I ever will be, but forgiveness and accountability do not stand in opposition. Accountability honors the value of life that was lost,” she said.
