Haitian community mourns loved ones killed in head-on collision on I-29

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The Haitian community is in mourning after three of its members were killed and three others injured in a head-on collision on Interstate 29 early Thursday morning.

It happened near the 29-mile marker near Dearborn.

Court documents show the driver, Kyle Mendez, was traveling north in the southbound lane when he collided with a pickup truck with seven passengers.

Investigators said Mendez believed he was driving on a two-lane road.

Mendez fled the scene but was tracked down by the Platte County Sheriff via drone and hid in a nearby bean field.

Ryan Bailey, who lives just off I-29 and near the crime scene, drove past on his way to work Thursday morning.

“You could just see that debris and stuff had been cleared from the road,” Bailey said. “Lots of black spots.”

He said he has seen many accidents in the 12 years he has been driving along I-29 every day.

“Most are single-vehicle accidents,” Bailey said. “But usually not head-on or wrong-way accidents.”

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that such head-on collisions are rare.

Current figures between 2010 and 2018 show that they are only responsible for 3.7 percent of all fatal accidents.

KSHB 41 spoke to the victim’s pastor, Olain Francois.

He said he had known one of the victims, Joel Similien, for many years and grew up in the same area in Haiti.

“He was a lovely guy who was always smiling,” Francois said. “He just loved everyone.”

Francois said Similien was carpooling home from her job at a meat processing plant in St. Joseph.

Among the passengers were his wife and cousin, both of whom have since died.

Francois said the Haitian community in Kansas City may be small, but it is close-knit.

“He is a good friend of mine, not just a church member, not just a pastor and church member, but we are good friends,” Francois said.

Mendez is being held without bail.

If he is convicted of both manslaughter and fleeing the scene of the crime, he faces up to 17 years in prison.

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