KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two Kansas City workers died and and another was injured after a trash truck rolled over and caught fire Tuesday, police said.
The crash happened Tuesday morning as the trash truck tried to exit Interstate 435 onto Front Street in northeast Kansas City, police Sgt. Bill Mahoney said.
Investigators believe the trash truck struck a concrete barrier before catching on fire, KSHB-TV reported.
Mahoney said a police officer was able to rescue one person from inside the trash truck.
Mahoney said one of the workers died at the scene. The other two were hospitalized, one in critical condition and the other in serious condition. No names have been released.
“I am absolutely devastated,” said Michael Shaw, director of the city's public works department. “My team is absolutely devastated.”
Shaw said he had worked for the city for 23 years and never experienced a fatality.
“We had a substantial tragedy today in Kansas City,” Mayor Quinton Lucas said.