Former Wichita officer charged after crashing into vehicle while responding to call
A former Wichita Police Department officer has been charged with four counts of battery after driving through a red light and hitting a car full of people while responding to an emergency call in April.
22-year-old Jayce Bennett was driving a city-owned Ford Explorer police car around 10 p.m. on April 18 when he ran a red light at First and Hillside, striking a Hyundai Sonata and causing it to spin several times before both vehicles came to a stop, the initial Kansas Highway Patrol crash report said. He and all four people in the Sonata were injured.
Bennett was responding to an officer-in-trouble call, WPD information officer Andrew Ford said previously, and the police car’s emergency lights were on at the time of the crash.
Bennett and the three of the four women inside the Hyundai Sonata had serious injuries. They and the fourth woman were hospitalized as a result of the crash.
“We recognize the seriousness of this incident and immediately requested Kansas Highway Patrol to conduct an independent investigation and to present the findings of that investigation to the District Attorney’s Office,” a statement from WPD said. “Chief Sullivan also initiated a concurrent Professional Standards Investigation due to the seriousness of this incident.”
The department said it cannot comment on specific findings from internal investigations and personnel matters.
Bennett was charged with four counts of aggravated battery Monday in connection with the crash. His employment with the Wichita Police Department ended on June 1, the department said. He is set to make his next appearance in court on July 7.
