Wrong-Way Driver Causes Tragic Crash that Killed Five People in Kansas

KANSAS- Kansas.com writes that five people died in a horrific early morning collision in Kansas this week. The incident occurred when a driver in a pickup truck was traveling in Interstate 70 heading east in the westbound lanes of traffic. The 2001 Ford F-150 crashed head-on into a 1999 Ford Econoline E350 van. The force of the impact led to the pickup truck igniting. Reports indicate that the truck was in the median completely engulfed in flames moments after the wreck.*

The driver in the pickup truck, a 20-year-old man from Council Grove, died at the scene of the incident. The collision also killed four people in the van, including the driver. The victims were identified as a 33-year-old man, a 29-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man, and a 19-year-old man, all of whom were from Topeka. The one survivor of the crash was a 37-year-old man from Lillington, North Carolina. Responders rushed the man to the Stormont Vail Hospital, where he is receiving treatment for severe injuries. 

Wrong-way crashes occur when a driver enters a divided roadway, such as a high-speed interstate or highway, heading in the wrong direction. This is a mistake that is not easy to make as multiple signs are used to inform drivers that they are beginning to head in the wrong direction. The motorists who end up traveling against the flow of traffic in these terrible crashes are often under the influence of alcohol or drugs. While these collisions are fairly rare, they cause an average of about 300 to 400 fatalities every year. There is a high risk of these incidents resulting in death because of the fact that they involved high speeds and head-on impacts. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:https://www.kansas.com/news/state/article240789246.html and https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/other_topics/wwd/