Man charged in connection with street racing crash that killed elderly couple
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Dec. 30 crash in south Kansas City, Missouri, took the lives of two elderly people. On Wednesday, the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against a suspect in the case.
Cortez Hamilton has been charged with two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of 72-year-old Diane Zugenbuhler and 91-year-old Verne Zugenbuhler.
According to law enforcement, the couple had been making a left turn onto Carondelet Drive from Wornall Road when a speeding black Chrysler 300 struck their Honda CRV.
Witnesses reported that the Chrysler and a silver Dodge Charger had been speeding down Wornall at a high rate of speed and weaving in and out of traffic.
Hamilton, who was driving the Chrysler, was reported to have reached 104mph in a 40mph zone. Investigators wrote that he was driving 79mph at the time of the crash.
The Zugenbuhlers were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, and Hamilton was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Blood tests revealed that Hamilton had driven while under the influence of cannabinoids.
Hamilton’s arrest warrant is without a bond, and he had not been taken into custody as of Friday morning.
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