KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -
Police identified a 32-year-old Grandview man who died early Sunday after he fell out of a moving truck.
Jared M. Free was a passenger in a pickup driven by his wife, Shannon Davis-Free, on southbound Highway 71 near 39th Street just before 4 a.m. on their way home from the Power and Light District. Authorities shut down part of the highway for a couple of hours while investigators worked the scene.
His wife said she had asked him to fix his door because it was not properly shut. Free was drunk when he fell out, but police do not believe his wife was intoxicated and took a blood sample to confirm, according to KCTV5's reporting partner, The Kansas City Star.
"I'll fix it," Free reportedly said to his wife before opening the door and falling onto the roadway. According to a witness, the truck was traveling about 45 mph.
Investigators don't yet know if he was killed from the fall or from being hit by another car.
Authorities are still investigating the accident, but at least three vehicles could have hit the man.
Free was a 1998 Grandview High School graduate and worked as a financial advisor for J.P. Morgan. He was a father of three children. His family said he loved to work out, coach children's sports and loved to celebrate life.
Visitation services for Free will be held Thursday in Belton. Funeral services are set for Saturday in Haysville, KS. Free will be buried in Wichita.
Memorials can be made to the Children's Education Fund, PO Box 182, Belton, MO, 64012.
Anyone with information about the hit-and-run investigation is urged to contact the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.
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