Wednesday, December 23, 2009

At least five deaths are now blamed on icy conditions on Kansas Highways.

A Texas man was killed in a rollover accident in Russell County early Wednesday. Russell County authorities said Gustavo Gomez-Chavez, 39, of Houston, lost control of his vehicle on an icy I-70 overpass. The vehicle rolled, coming to rest on the eastbound exit ramp at Dorrance. Gomez-Chavez was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger, Guillermina Ruiz-Evaristo, 26, of Houston, was taken to a Russell hospital for treatment.

A Scott City woman was killed in an accident 11 miles north of garden City Wednesday morning. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Maria Bruner lost control of her vehicle on the slick roadway. Her car went into the ditch and rolled. The 53-year-old Bruner died from her injuries. Two passengers in her SUV survived the crash.

A Colorado Springs man was killed in an accident in Sherman County Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. Sherman County authorities said John Mahon, 30, was killed when he rolled his pickup truck on I-70 near the Kansas-Colorado border.

Two Fort Smith, Ark., residents died Tuesday night after a two-vehicle collision caused by icy conditions.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said 23-year-old Keely Trusell was eastbound on Interstate 70 near Colby when she spun out of control, crossed the median and hit a westbound semi-tractor trailer. She and her passenger, 25-year-old Brandon Trusell, were killed in the crash.

Sherman County Sheriff Kevin Butts says I70 from the Kansas/Colorado line to milepost 35 is icy and snowpacked. The passing lanes during this stretch of highway are completely snowpacked and 85% of the driving lane is icy and snowpacked