First responders on the scene of northbound I-35 near 75th Street Tuesday evening. Photo credit Mike Frizzell.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says a Lenexa woman was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Interstate 35 Tuesday evening.
Merriam police, Overland Park firefighters and Johnson County Med-Act paramedics were called to the northbound lanes of Interstate 35 just north of 75th Street at 5:47 p.m. Tuesday for an injury crash.
Firefighters arrived to report one vehicle on the right shoulder of the highway with damage to its front end.
Highway Patrol troopers say a 1969 Chevrolet Corvair and a 1997 Chevrolet Suburban were merging onto northbound I-35 when the Suburban slowed for traffic.
The highway patrol’s online crash log says that the Corvair driver could not slow enough and struck the back of the Suburban.
“Vehicle 1 [Corvair] ran off the road to the right and struck the right side barrier wall,” the crash log says. “Vehicle 2 [Suburban] fled the scene of the collision.”
Troopers have identified the deceased as Sharon Bybee, 79, of Lenexa. She was a passenger in the Corvair.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says a Corvair, above, struck the back of a Chevy Suburban. The Suburban driver then fled the scene. Photo credit Mike Frizzell.
The driver, an 81-year-old Lenexa man, was transported to an area hospital by Johnson County Med-Act ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries.
The crash log states that both people in the Corvair were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
A witness to the crash was able to give troopers the license plate information for the Suburban that left the scene. The Highway Patrol’s online crash log indicates the Suburban had Missouri plates.
The right lane of northbound I-35 just north of the 75th Street bridge and the entrance ramp from 75th Street to northbound were closed as Troopers investigated the crash scene.
All lanes and the entrance ramp reopened at 8:20 p.m.
Mike Frizzell is a freelance crime and fire reporter who runs Operation 100 News.
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