5 killed, 13 injured in I-35 crash
Baku, April 2 (AZERTAC). Five people, including adults and children, were killed and more than a dozen injured Sunday morning when a packed motor home headed from Texas to Minnesota crashed on northbound Interstate 35 in Osage County, Kansas Highway Patrol officials said.
The wreck occurred about 9:30 a.m. on I-35 in extreme southeastern Osage County, about three miles southwest of the Franklin County town of Williamsburg.
Initial reports indicated a triple-axle box truck with Minnesota license plates was pulling a triple-axle trailer when the vehicle left the roadway, struck a metal guardrail, then a concrete bridge rail. The vehicle then went over and plummeted into a creek.
The truck landed on its wheels, and the trailer landed on its left side in front of the truck.
Debris was strewn around the crumpled Freightliner box truck, which had living quarters inside.
A total of 18 people were in the vehicle and trailer, Kansas Highway Patrol authorities told The Topeka Capital-Journal late Sunday afternoon.
It wasn’t immediately known how many people were riding in the box truck and how many were in the trailer, which was believed to have been converted for passenger transportation.
Emergency responders transported 13 injured patients to Stormont-Vail Regional Health Center in Topeka, Ransom Memorial Hospital in Ottawa and Olathe Medical Center in Olathe.
Another hospital, Overland Park Regional Medical Center, received two adults and an 8-year-old boy who were in critical condition, said spokeswoman Chris Hamele. The adults remained critical Sunday night, and the boy was transferred to a children’s hospital, which declined to release any information about him or a 3-year-old who was transferred there.
The Minnesota family involved in the crash released a statement thanking the public for the “outpouring of love and support.”
Overland Park Regional Medical Center released the statement late Sunday night on behalf of the Kerber family of Jordan, Minn. The suburban Kansas City hospital is treating two survivors — 46-year-old Pauline Kerber, who is in critical but stable condition, and her 17-year-old son, Adam Kerber, who is in critical condition.
The statement said the family appreciated the prayers but requested privacy as they mourn the “deep loss.”
Hospitals in Topeka, Olathe and Ottawa reported discharging five of the victims, while another victim being treated at a Kansas City, Kan., hospital was listed as fair. The conditions of the other victims weren’t immediately known.
“Every once in a while you will get a large number of fatalities in one accident,” Trooper Don Hughes said. “We are lucky they don’t happen very often.”
The interstate was shut down for several hours as crews responded to the wreck.
Capital-Journal writer Ann Marie Bush and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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