April 16--Two women in their 30s were killed and a man was injured in a fiery crash Tuesday evening on the Kansas Turnpike in Wichita.
Master Trooper Dallas Gilmore said a pickup truck driving the wrong way in the northbound lanes of I-35, south of the 47th Street exit, struck a passenger car head-on that was carrying the women. Initial reports indicate the dead are residents of Oklahoma.
"We received a report of wrong-way driver" about 9:15 p.m., Gilmore said. "About a minute later, we received another report that there'd been an accident."
Gilmore said Tuesday that the pickup "was engulfed in flames" after the crash. Its driver, a Haysville man in his 60s, was taken to a local hospital, he said.
"It appears he was having a medical condition," Gilmore said late Tuesday, but authorities were still investigating the cause.
The area of the turnpike affected by the wreck was closed for several hours. Turnpike spokeswoman Rachel Bell said northbound travelers were diverted off the highway at the Haysville/Derby exit and redirected either to I-135 or to another toll booth. All lanes were reopened at about 1:30 a.m.
Reach Amy Renee Leiker at 316-268-6644 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @amyreneeleiker.
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