Driving Mistake Leads To Deadly Turnpike Crash
March 23 - A driving mistake leads to a deadly crash that ends with one trucker dead and three others hurt.

It happened Wednesday morning on the Kansas Turnpike in Sumner County near the South Haven exit.

Troopers say a semi entered the turnpike on the exit ramp instead of turning onto the entrance ramp right next to it. That put the trucker going south in the northbound lanes.

The driver, 39-year-old Steve Helinsky of Wilmer, Tex. is in the hospital with face and eye injuries.

Troopers say Helinsky realized he was going the wrong way soon after getting on the turnpike. But instead of just pulling over, the trucker tried to make a u-turn.

The semi was blocking the northbound lanes, as another northbound semi approached. The driver was coming up a hill, and apparently didn't see the semi in the road.

The truck driven by 64-year-old Corinne Bartels of Platteville, Wisconsin hit Helinsky's truck.

Bartels was flown to a Wichita hospital, where she died of her injuries.
Her passenger is in the hospital in critical condition. Another Texas trucker in Helinsky's truck is also in the hospital with injuries.

Investigators say Helinsky will be charged with vehicular homicide once he gets out of the hospital.