A woman and child from Kansas City died, and another child from Kansas City was injured as the result of a sport utility vehicle striking the towed unit of a heavy-duty semi-trailer truck at Cameron early Tuesday morning.
The DeKalb County coroner pronounced Lathrop and Spearman-Lathrop dead at the scene about an hour after the accident, then transported the bodies of SUV driver 29-year-old Desari Lathrop and SUV passenger nine-year-old Savion Spearman-Lathrop to Frontier Forensics in Kansas City, Kansas.
Emergency medical services transported SUV passenger three-year-old Ariana Hill to the Cameron Regional Medical Center with what the Patrol described as minor injuries. No injuries were reported for truck driver 59-year-old Kenneth Eldridge of Petaluma, California.
The SUV and truck traveled west on U. S. Highway 36 before the truck reportedly stopped at a red light at the intersection with Bob F. Griffin Road. The truck began traveling west on U. S. 36, and the SUV hit the truck’s towed unit. The truck continued west and came to a controlled stop on the north shoulder of U. S. 36 facing east. The SUV overturned and partially ejected Lathrop before coming to rest on its top facing southwest in the passing lane of U. S. 36.
Only Eldridge and Hill wore safety devices. The Cameron Police and Fire departments assisted at the scene of the crash.
