By Phil Anderson
Published: Oct. 25, 2021 at 8:07 AM CDT
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Fatality crashes claimed six lives over the weekend in Kansas.
• A 79-year-old man was killed in a single-vehicle crash early Sunday in Sheridan County in northwest Kansas.
The crash was reported at 4:15 a.m. Sunday at US-24 and K-188 highways, about eight miles east of Hoxie.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck was westbound on US-24 when the driver attempted to make a left turn onto K-188. The vehicle missed the roadway to the west and drove off the concrete culvert, the patrol said. The truck coming to rest facing south, high-centered on the culvert.
The driver, Vernon J. Rietcheck, was pronounced dead at the scene.
• One person was killed and three others were seriously injured early Sunday in a one-car crash in Ellis County.
The crash was reported at 3 a.m. Sunday at the junction of the US-183 highway bypass and W. 8th Street on the southeast side of Hays.
According to the patrol, a 2014 Hyundai Sonata was traveling west at a high rate of speed when it failed to stop at the stop sign at US-183 bypass.
The car continued westbound over the embankment and went airborne. After the car hit the ground at the bottom of the embankment, it flipped end-over-end, coming to rest on its top.
A passenger, Jacob Ray Rivera, 19, of Selma, Calif., was pronounced dead at the scene. The patrol said Rivera was wearing a seat belt.
Three other occupants were taken to Hays Medical Center with serious injuries, the patrol said. They were identified as the driver, Dalton Charles Hall, 20, of Savoy, Ill.; Chelsy Mendoza, 20, of Selma, Calif.; and Victoria Angelica Borrego, 21, of Pacifica, Calif. None of the three occupants taken to the hospital was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.
• One person was killed and three others were seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash early Sunday in Coffey County.
The collision was reported at 2:05 a.m. on US-75 highway about three miles south of Burlington.
The patrol said a 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck was northbound on US-75 when it crossed the center line, colliding with a 1999 Toyota 4Runner that was southbound on US-75.
A passenger in the 4Runner, Griffin Thomas Lamb, 18, of Lenexa, was pronounced dead at the scene. The patrol said Lamb was wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the 4Runnere, Brandon Wayne Darbyshire, 19, of Eureka, was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka with serious injuries. The patrol said Darbyshire was wearing a seat belt.
A passenger in the 4Runner, Thomas Gordon Greig, 20, of Prairie Village, was taken to Coffey County Hospital in Burlington before being transferred to the University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City, Kan. The patrol said Greig was wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the Dodge pickup truck, Gary Lee Miser, 52, of Emporia, was taken to Coffey County Hospital with serious injuries. The patrol said Miswer was wearing a seat belt.
• A 17-year-old boy was killed early Saturday when the sport utility vehicle he was driving crashed in Cheyenne County in northwest Kansas.
The fatality victim was identified as John Carlos Serrano, 17, of Bird City.
The crash was reported at 1:43 a.m. Saturday on US-36y highway, less than a quarter-mile east of Bird City.
The patrol said a 1993 Ford Bronco SUV westbound on US-36 when it attempted to pass a semi-trailer to the left while the roadway curved. The Bronco continued straight, leaving the roadway and entered the south ditch, where it collided with a concrete barrier.
Serrano, who was driving the Bronco, was taken to St. Francis Hospital in St. Francis, where he was pronounced dead. The patrol said Serrano, who was alone in the vehicle, wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
• One person was killed Saturday afternoon in a rear-end collision between two semi-trailers on Interstate 35 on the Kansas Turnpike in Sedgwick County.
The crash was reported at 2:06 p.m. Saturday on I-35 near George Washington Boulevard in southeast Wichita.
According to the patrol, a 2019 Freightliner semi was traveling south on I-35 partially on the outside shoulder and outside lane at a low rate of speed because of mechanical issues.
As the Freightliner was attempting to move onto the shoulder, it was struck in the rear by a 2007 Peterbilt semi. The driver of the Peterbilt semi, Darwin Dammann, 60, of Avoca, Iowa, was ejected from the vehicle, the patrol said. Dammann was taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where he was pronounced dead. The patrol said Dammann wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the Freightliner, Ibrahim Bashir, 34, of Denver, was taken to Wesley Medical Center for treatment of possible injuries. The patrol said Bashir was wearing a seat belt.
• One person was killed late Saturday afternoon in a three-vehicle collision in Ellsworth County in central Kansas.
The crash was reported at 4:37 p.m. Saturday on K-156 highway, about nine miles northeast of the city of Ellsworth.
The patrol said a 2004 Chevrolet Impala was westbound on K-156 when it traveled across the center line and struck a 2012 Peterbilt that was eastbound on K-156. The collision occurred on the edge of the eastbound shoulder.
After the collision, the 2012 Peterbilt semi went back into the westbound lane and was struck by a 2007 Peterbilt semi.
The driver of the Impala, Lance Michael Martin,41, of Salina, was pronounced dead at the scene. The patrol said Michael was wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the 2012 Peterbilt semi, Kevin Lee Cooper, 49, of Longview, Wash., was reported to have possible injuries but wasn’t transported to the hospital. The patrol said Cooper was wearing his seat belt.
The driver of the 2007 Peterbilt, Michael John Campbell, 53, of Tescott, was reported uninjured. The patrol said Campbell was wearing his seat belt.
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