Updated: Westbound I-435 reopened; fiery crash captured on video

The westbound lanes of Interstate 435 in Overland Park reopened mid-morning Thursday after crews repaired damaged caused by a fiery crash.

The highway reopened about 10:20 a.m. Thursday.

The crash, which was captured on video, involved a tractor trailer shortly before 11:30 a.m.

Overland Park Police Chief Frank Donchez tweeted video Wednesday afternoon showing a semi truck traveling west on I-435 crashing into the median at the U.S. 69 split in Overland Park. It shows the semi erupting into fire.

“Thankfully the driver received only minor injuries,” Donchez tweeted.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the flames. The crash, however, damaged a safety device used to lessen the damage in a crash.

The driver in the crash “is going to be OK,” Officer John Lacy, a spokesman for the Overland Park Police Department, said.

Lacy urged drivers to slow down, be patient and pay attention to their surroundings when entering construction zones.

“As long as you pay attention to roadway signs, you slow down, get through the construction zone in a safe manner, things like this won’t happen,” Lacy said.

The crash is the latest of several wrecks along that stretch of highway, which is undergoing a massive pavement repair project.

This past weekend, Willie “Darryl” Wilson died of burns he suffered in a fiery, chain-reaction crash July 17 in the eastbound lanes near Wednesday’s crash.

Motorists are being asked to use 103rd Street or College Boulevard as alternate routes.

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Updated: Westbound I-435 reopened; fiery crash captured on video."