Tow Truck Driver dies as a result of a crash 10.21.23 (KS)

[TowForce]

1 dead, 6 injured after multi-vehicle crash on I-435 near State Line

 

The Kansas Highway Patrol says one person was killed and six others injured after a crash on Interstate 435 early Saturday evening.

 

Troopers say the crash happened at about 5:55 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 435 about one-third of a mile west of State Line Road in Leawood.

 

According to the Highway Patrol’s crash log, three vehicles were stopped on the left shoulder, and traffic was slowing.

 

Troopers say that a Porsche Taycan made a lane change from the left lane into the left-center lane, where it struck a Freightliner tractor-trailer.

 

The Taycan then hit a Chevrolet Equinox before crashing into a Ford Escape that was stopped on the shoulder.

 

The Equinox then crashed into a Chevrolet Silverado that was unoccupied and parked on the left shoulder.

 

The tractor-trailer also went to the left, hitting a Nissan Rogue driving in the left lane, and then hit the rear of a tow truck stopped on the left shoulder.

 

Leawood Fire officials say that the tow truck caught fire. Witnesses to the crash stopped and pulled two men out of the burning tow truck.

 

In all, seven people were transported by Johnson County Med-Act ambulances to area hospitals.

 

 

Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers say that the tow truck driver, Randal D. Hammonds, 69, of Kansas City, Missouri, died at the hospital several hours later.

 

Two other people are also said to be in serious condition. Four other people were said to have been transported to the hospital in stable condition.

 

One of the people transported was not involved in the crash but required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation after he stopped and helped rescue the injured men from the burning tow truck.

 

Police officers from Kansas City, Missouri, and Leawood closed the westbound lanes of Interstate 435 just east of State Line Road as firefighters extinguished the flames.

 

All of the westbound lanes reopened about an hour after the crash.

 

The Kansas Department of Transportation blocked the three left lanes of eastbound I-435 as Highway Patrol Troopers investigated the crash.

 

All eastbound lanes reopened at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

 

The Kansas Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash.

 

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[5towman]

Condolences to the tow operators family.