79-year-old Merriam man dies in crash with box truck at busy Johnson County intersection
A 79-year-old Merriam man died in a crash with a box truck Tuesday morning at a busy Johnson County intersection, a spokesman for Merriam police said.
Police believe that Robert D. Hanna “may have had some sort of medical issue prior to the crash,” said Capt. Troy Duvanel, a spokesman for the Merriam Police Department.
The crash occurred about 9 a.m. at Antioch Road and Johnson Drive, just at the tail end of the morning’s rush hour in the Kansas City area.
“It appears that the passenger car ran a red light,” Duvanel said.
The car then collided with a box truck that was head east on Johnson Drive, he said.
“Despite all efforts to save the driver of the passenger car, he was deceased,” Duvanel said. Hanna was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the box truck was uninjured, but shaken from what had happened, he said.
While police investigated the crash, the intersection was closed and drivers were urged to avoid the area, police said.
