Unsafe lane change blamed in Turnpike crash that killed Kansas City, Kansas, man
A 44-year-old Kansas City, Kansas, man died early Thursday in a two-vehicle crash on the Kansas Turnpike in Leavenworth County, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.
Roberto Lemus died in the crash that occurred about 1:10 a.m. along westbound Interstate 70 near the Eastern Terminal gantry, according to the highway patrol’s preliminary crash report.
Lemus was headed west in a 2019 Honda Civic in the right lane of I-70. Meanwhile, a 2016 Jeep Wrangler, driven by a 31-year-old Independence man, was also headed west in the left lane.
The driver of the Jeep made an unsafe lane change into the right lane and struck the rear of Lemus’ car. As a result, the car veered off the road into a ditch, striking a delineator post and continuing into a tree line. The Jeep came to rest sideways across the highway.
The driver of the Jeep was uninjured. Both drivers were wearing seatbelts, according to the highway patrol.
