MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL
a division of the
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Troop A, 504 SE Blue Parkway, Lee's Summit, MO 64063


News Release

For further information please contact: Sgt. Collin Stosberg
(816) 622-0800 ext. 259
A2011-4
February 11, 2011

EMPHASIS: Arrest Made In Connection With Fatal Hit And Run In Henry County

On February 11, 2011, at approximately 5:50 p.m., members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department arrested James L. Bedford, 47, of Urich, Missouri, for felony leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash. Bedford was arrested at the Sky-Vu motel, 8300 E. U.S. 40 Highway, in Kansas City, Missouri. The arrest was a result of a fatal traffic crash investigation initiated by the Patrol on February 9, 2011, where a pedestrian, Michael Ham, 42, of Clinton, Missouri, was struck and fatally injured in the area of Missouri 7, one-half mile north of the Clinton city limits, in Henry County, Missouri.

Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers and Kansas City, Missouri, officers also located the possible vehicle involved in the crash, a green 1994 Ford Taurus, at 3019 Cleveland Avenue, in Kansas City, Missouri. The vehicle was partially disassembled and burned. The vehicle was seized as evidence and later transported to the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Lab, in Jefferson City, Missouri, for processing. Additional parts of the vehicle were located at 3014 Monroe, in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bedford was transported to the Henry County Jail in Clinton, Missouri. The charge for which Bedford was arrested is mere accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charge must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

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