Olathe man arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run in OP crash that killed two students

Overland Park police on Thursday arrested a man they suspect of leaving a crash scene Saturday in which two young men died.

The 45-year-old Olathe man has not been charged but was booked into the Johnson County jail on suspicion of failing to stop after an accident resulting in death.

The Star is not naming the man because charges have not yet been filed.

The crash Saturday afternoon on 151st Street near Stearns Street killed Matthew Bloskey, 18, and Samuel Siebuhr, 20.

Overland Park police said that a van belonging to the suspect may have hit a car driven by Siebuhr as both vehicles were traveling east on 151st Street.

Siebuhr apparently lost control, clipped another vehicle, then crashed head-on with a westbound car driven by Bloskey. Both drivers died at the scene.

The van left the scene of the wreck. Police released surveillance photos of it and asked the public for help in finding it.

On the day of the crash, police said they thought speed was a factor in the wreck but it was unclear what caused it.

“We don’t know if they were racing or if there was some type of road rage incident that occurred while they were traveling eastbound, but we’re trying to sort that out,” said Officer John Lacy, an Overland Park Police Department spokesman.

On Tuesday, police said they had found the van and were interviewing the owner. Lacy thanked the public for helping to find the van.

Both of the men killed in the wreck were students.

Siebuhr was studying automotive mechanics at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

On Facebook, Siebuhr wrote that he lived in KCK and was a computer technician at Connecting for Good, an organization that works to bridge the digital divide in the urban core. He was from New Strawn, Kan., attended Horace Good Middle School in Garden City, Kan., and graduated last year from Bridges Wyandot Academy in Kansas City, Kan.

Bloskey was a senior at Rockhurst High School. On the day of the wreck, Rockhurst President David Laughlin said in a statement that the school’s community was “devastated” by the loss.

An obituary Thursday for Matthew William Bloskey described him as “a special light in this world, shining upon every person he encountered.”

“He was kind, compassionate and respectful to others,” the obituary continued. “He genuinely cared about people’s feelings, never wanting to disappoint and always striving to make his family proud.

“His zest for life and magnetic personality attracted people into his orbit, sharing his positive energy and sparking positive energy in others.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2018 at 3:04 PM.