Accident

Two people are in critical condition after an accident on the Kansas Turnpike. Five others are in serious condition. It happened in the southbound lanes of I-35, just North of the Towanda service station. Two medical helipcoters were called to transport some of the injured. Eyewitness news has a crew headed to the scene. Look for updates online and on air.

As you head to work or school this morning, allow yourself extra time.  Roads are slick in many parts of Kansas. Click here for Map of Road Conditions The Wichita Public School District says buses will avoid elevated roadways because of the conditions.  That means buses may be running late. Several minor accidents have happened across Wichita. The Emergency Accident Reporting Plan is also in effect in Wichita.  If you are in an accident and no one is hurt and no drugs or alcohol are involved, go to a police substation or Quik Trip to pick up an accident reporting form.

An accident involving three motorcycles on the Kansas Turnpike has claimed the life of a man from Lawrence. Troopers were called to the scene just outside of Topeka at milepost 178 around 5:45 p.m. Saturday. Investigators said a 59-year-old man was riding his motorcycle, when he lost control and crashed. The second bike braked to avoid the accident and also crashed. A third motorcycle also went into the ditch while trying to avoid the scene. The man on the first bike died at the scene.

A pedestrian has been critically injured in an accident in northeast Wichita. Police were called to the scene in the 1700 block of N. Poplar just after 8 p.m. Tuesday. The driver told police that the pedestrian walked out in front of the eastbound car. Investigators said the pedestrian did not have the right of way. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries. Police are asking for witnesses to call 911 if they saw the accident.

The snow kept law enforcement busy overnight, working accident after accident. "I think there's probably a little more snow than everyone thought it was going to be. It came in pretty quick and it was blowing pretty bad for a while there," said Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ryan Tauer. At times before dusk, drivers had a hard time seeing where they were going. "The visibility gets cut down greatly when the snow is blowing. You get the reduced visibility of course when the sun was down it was dark so you couldn't see as well and people were following too close," said Tauer.

The weather conditions Monday afternoon didn't create the best "work environment" for two Harvey County deputies. "It was pretty much a white out at that point, you couldn't see very well,” Sheriff T. Walton said. Walton says his deputies were sent to a jack-knifed semi on I-135.  A trooper needed help slowing-down traffic. "Here comes a van, doing about 65 miles per hour, trying to pass another vehicle, and goes directly into my deputy,” Sheriff Walton said. The van rear-ended the deputy, sitting inside his truck.

The snowstorm is being blamed for one deadly accident. The Kansas Highway Patrol says a Kansas City man died when his SUV hit an icy patch on I-70 Monday morning. The accident happened near Goodland.  The highway patrol says the SUV rolled after hitting the ice.  The driver was not wearing a seat belt.  A passenger who was buckled up survived.

A head on crash involving a semi in Kingman County has turned deadly. It happened on U.S. 54, about eight miles west of Kingman. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Justin Adams, 31, of Missouri, was driving east on Highway 54, when he lost control on a curve, striking a semi head on. Adams was flown to a Wichita hospital where he later died. The driver of the semi, Lynn Andrews, of Missiouri was not hurt. A passenger, James Meadows, 71, of Missouri, suffered serious injuries.

A man is killed after a Sunday morning accident in Ness County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says that 22-year-old Skyler Jones lost control of his car about two miles west of McCracken. The vehicle rolled multiple times and landed on its top. Jones was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have located the second suspect following a series of hit and run accidents in east Wichita.  The accidents happened before noon on Thursday at 21st and Webb. Police say the second suspect turned himself this afternoon.  He went in for questioning, but police say early indications show he wasn't a willing participant and was just a passenger.  They released him.  The driver involved in the hit and runs remains in jail. Witness Alan Martin tells Eyewitness News, two men in their late teens or early 20's were in a car driving erratically.  He says all of a sudden, the car slammed into the back of his car.  He says it slid underneath his vehicle and then the men inside threw it in reverse to unhook from him. Martin says, "I saw them in the rear view mirror about to hit me so I just braced and I said oh boy here it is. " The witness says the car started driving into oncoming traffic and then turned into the Commerce Bank parking lot.  He says the driver continued driving backwards through the bank's drive-thru and almost hit a pedestrian.  The pedestrian jumped out of the way. The car kept going and turned into a nearby neighborhood.  The men ditched the car and took off on foot.