Officer Douglas Perry was struck and killed by a vehicle while he was working the scene of a traffic accident.

On September 6, 1978, Officer Perry was handling an accident involving a car and a pickup truck on the Lewis and Clark viaduct (I-70 at the Kansas/Missouri state line) when he was struck by a semi tractor trailer. Officer Perry was working in an accident scene that had been blocked off ten minutes before when a tanker truck carrying 8,000 gallons of fuel and traveling at 40 miles per hour veered toward six persons helping clear the highway. Officer Perry was struck and killed in the accident. Tow truck driver RIchard West, 32, was thrown 100 feet severing one leg and requiring the other leg to be amputated in the emergency room. William Roberts, 54, a passerby who stopped to help, was hospitalized with rib and pelvic fractures.

Officer Perry had been with the Kansas City Police Pepartment for six years and served with the United States Army for a two year tour in Vietnam. He was survived by his wife and three children. Interred: Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri.