The Kansas Highway Patrol says two men from Omaha, Nebraska, were killed in a Coffey County wreck ending a law enforcement pursuit Wednesday.
The Highway Patrol crash log says law enforcement pursued a Ford pickup on US Highway 75 when the northbound truck driver tried to pass a semi on the right shoulder. The pickup re-entered the northbound line, only to be hit by another second semi before going into the southbound lane and getting hit by yet another semi. The trailer of the first semi to hit the pickup caught fire in the wreck.
The pickup driver, 24-year-old Trevell Moore, and the passenger, 20-year-old Gale Wright Jr, were both dead at the scene. The driver of the first semi to hit the pickup, 52-year-old Keith Coffey of Vale, North Carolina, was taken to Coffey County Hospital in Burlington with possible injuries. The driver of the second semi involved, 26-year-old Logan Perrodin of El Dorado Springs, Missouri, was not hurt. Coffey and Perrodin were wearing seat belts. Neither Moore nor Wright were wearing belts.
The crash log updates a preliminary news release from the Highway Patrol that said the chase began shortly after 11:15 am after a trooper tried a traffic stop on a Ford F-150 pickup on US Highway 75, noting the truck was stolen as part of an aggravated robbery carjacking incident in Texas. The driver fled with the trooper in pursuit. The chase ended with the wreck less than 10 minutes after it started.
Details about the carjacking incident have not been divulged. Moore served two years in a Nebraska prison for burglary, being released in 2019.
Authorities closed US-75 in both directions for around five hours and then intermittently closed the highway for additional work. The KHP’s Critical Highway Accident Response Team was part of the investigation.
The incident also prompted 4 Rivers Electric Cooperative to de-energize a nearby power line for nearly four hours, shutting off power for about 25 nearby customers.
6:30 pm Wednesday: Two people dead after allegedly stolen truck crashes in Coffey County
Two people are dead after a law enforcement pursuit of a reportedly stolen vehicle in Coffey County on Wednesday.
Kansas Highway Patrol Capt. Candice Breshears says the incident began unfolding shortly after 11:15 am after a trooper tried a traffic stop on a Ford F-150 pickup on US Highway 75, noting the truck was stolen as part of an aggravated robbery carjacking incident in Texas. The driver fled with the trooper in pursuit.
Less than 10 minutes after the chase began, the truck went onto the right shoulder and tried to pass a commercial truck going northbound. The pickup was involved in a wreck with two commercial vehicles as it tried to pass the initial truck. Both people in the pickup were pronounced dead. None of the commercial truck drivers were hurt.
It took nearly five hours to open up US-75 between 22nd and 27th, or the five-mile stretch of highway immediately south of BETO Junction. The Highway Patrol says US-75 might be fully closed on an intermittent basis through much of the evening.
The Kansas Highway Patrol’s Critical Highway Accident Response Team has been investigating the wreck. A full crash log report is pending.
2:30-5 pm Wednesday: US-75 remains closed south of BETO Junction after wreck
Part of US Highway 75 in Coffey County has been closed for a significant part of time after a crash Wednesday morning.
The Coffey County Sheriff’s Office says US-75 is closed between 22nd and 27th, or the five miles of highway immediately south of BETO Junction, after at least two vehicles collided shortly after 11:15 am. Other details have not been released.
The Sheriff’s Office says the Kansas Highway Patrol will have the final report once its investigation is completed.
