Drowsy driving is now listed as a key part of an injury crash on the Kansas Turnpike near Emporia early Thursday.
The Turnpike Authority says 72-year-old Timothy Locke of Oakdale, Minn., was driving a car southbound when he crashed near mile marker 135, eight miles northeast of Emporia, around 6:20 am. The KTA says Locke fell asleep at the wheel. His car left the highway to the outside shoulder, where it hit a guardrail. The car then crossed both southbound lanes and hit both the center barrier wall and another guardrail.
Emporia Fire crews say Locke was pinned temporarily but was removed by an ambulance crew as more help arrived. He was taken to Newman Regional Health for observation and treatment.
The inside lane had been closed for better than half an hour during initial patient treatment.
8 am: Turnpike crash victim pinned, extricated, hospitalized
One person was taken to Newman Regional Health after a crash on the Kansas Turnpike northeast of Emporia before sunrise Thursday.
Emporia Fire crews brought the person to Emporia after a southbound vehicle crashed into the Turnpike’s center barrier wall near mile marker 135, eight miles northeast of Emporia, around 6:30 am. Emporia Fire crews say the person was pinned temporarily but was removed by an ambulance crew as more help arrived.
The inside lane had been closed for better than half an hour during initial patient treatment. That lane has reopened to traffic as the crash investigation continues.
Crash details are currently under investigation and the patient’s name has not been released. Stay with KVOE and KVOE.com for more details as they develop.
7 am Thursday: Southbound Turnpike crash shuts down inside lane north of Emporia; one reportedly hurt
Law enforcement and emergency crews are on the scene of a possible injury crash on the Kansas Turnpike northeast of Emporia.
Authorities were called out to the Turnpike mile marker 135, about seven miles northeast of Emporia, just before 6:30 am. The Turnpike Authority has confirmed one southbound vehicle is involved and one patient may have suffered injuries, but the extent has not been determined. Early reports the crash victim was pinned inside the vehicle have not been confirmed by the Turnpike Authority.
Early indications are the vehicle hit the center barrier wall, although it’s unclear why. Rescue workers currently have the inside lane blocked.
6:40 am Thursday: Possible injury crash reported on Kansas Turnpike northeast of Emporia
Law enforcement and emergency crews are responding to a reported possible injury crash on the Kansas Turnpike northeast of Emporia.
Authorities were called out to the Turnpike mile marker 135, about seven miles northeast of Emporia, just before 6:30 am. The Turnpike Authority has confirmed one southbound vehicle is involved, but further details about the potential number of patients and the severity of injuries is pending.
Stay with KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media for updates.
