Police car involved in fatal crash early Sunday in west Topeka
Crash occurred around 1 a.m. at S.W. 12th and Webster
One person is dead following an early-morning crash Sunday involving a Topeka police cruiser and a passenger car on the city’s west side.
Police Lt. Andrew Beightel said the fatal crash occurred about 1 a.m. at S.W. 12th and Webster.
A Ford Explorer police cruiser and a 2007 Hyundai Elantra collided in the intersection. Beightel said the crash wasn’t the result of a chase.
The driver of the Elantra was pronounced dead at the scene. The on-duty police officer who was on patrol at the time was transported to Stormont Vail Health with injuries not considered to be life-threatening.
The Kansas Highway Patrol, which investigates crashes involving a police unit, later identified the officer as Laura Mayer, 39. The highway patrol named the Elantra’s driver as Tourquoise Moniece Abercrombie, 29, of Topeka.
The patrol said the Elantra ran a stop sign before striking Mayer’s car on the passenger side, and did not have its headlights activated. Mayer was wearing a seatbelt, the patrol said, but Abercrombie was not.
Linda Ruiz, a communications specialist for Stormont Vail, said via phone that no information on Mayer’s condition is able to be released.
S.W. 12th is a one-way through street for westbound traffic at that location, while S.W. Webster is controlled by stop signs for both north- and southbound traffic. The intersection is three blocks east of S.W. 12th and Oakley.
The intersection remained closed as of 5 a.m. as KHP crews investigated.
This past February, two other fatality crashes involving law enforcement officers occurred in Topeka. Both of those fatal crashes occurred during chases in which the vehicle being pursued struck another vehicle, killing an occupant in the other vehicle.
One of the fatality crashes occurred when a vehicle was fleeing from a Topeka police officer at S.W. 6th and Topeka Boulevard. The other fatal crash involved a vehicle fleeing from a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper at S.W. 6th and Gage. In both cases, the driver of the vehicle being pursued was arrested and charged in connection with the fatal crash.
Staff writer Marcus Clem contributed to this report.