HARVEY COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 10:30a.m. Monday in Newton.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Ford Transit van driven by Nathaniael Gingerich, 22, Wichita, was northbound on Interstate 135 Frontage Road approaching Broadway Street. The van rear-ended a 2021 Freightliner semi driven by John Jason Augustus, 23, Natchitoches, Louisiana, that had entered the roundabout at East Broadway Street.
A passenger in the van identified as Dandre Lorenzo Jones, 20, Wichita, was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center. Gingerich had a minor injury, according to the KHP. They did not indicate if or where he was treated.
Augustus and a passenger in the semi were not injured. All four were properly restrained, according to the KHP.
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HARVEY COUNTY— Speed is believed to be a factor in a fatal crash at the roundabout at Broadway and I-135 in Newton.
Just before 11 a.m. Monday, a semi-truck was northbound on the access road between First Street and Broadway and had stopped at the roundabout when it was rear-ended by a Stanley Steemer cleaning van. A passenger in the van was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither driver had any apparent injuries.
Kansas Highway Patrol is conducting the investigation because commercial vehicles were involved. KHP is working on identification and notifications, and the investigation is ongoing.
The roundabout at Broadway and Interstate 135 will be closed for the next few hours.