Mexican restaurant gets a bit too hot

Fire caused about $12,000 damage Monday morning to the kitchen of a Mexican restaurant in south Lawrence.

Crews from Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical responded about 12:26 a.m. to an alarm at On the Border, 3080 Iowa. Firefighters forced their way into the restaurant and found the fire had been extinguished by a sprinkler and hood system in the kitchen.

The building was empty at the time of the fire. An investigation found the fire to be accidental.

The restaurant reopened later Monday.

Highway fatality

Lawrence man dies in K-10 accident

The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of a one-vehicle wreck that killed a Lawrence man Sunday evening in Johnson County.

Francisco Balderrama Jr., 45, died after his 1987 Chevrolet car left the road and struck a bridge pillar on Kansas Highway 10 at Interstate 435.

He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the report.

Trooper Matt Brooks said it didn’t appear alcohol was a factor in the crash. He said witnesses described seeing Balderrama swerve onto the shoulder of the road once before leaving the road again and striking the pillar.

Brooks said he was awaiting the results of an autopsy.

“We don’t know if it was a medical condition : or if it was just a distraction in the vehicle,” he said. “If it turns out not to be a medical condition, we may not know” what caused the wreck.

Douglas County

Fire destroys home south of Stull

Fire destroyed a ranch-style home south of Stull early Monday morning while the owners were away for the Memorial Day holiday.

A passer-by saw the fire shortly after 4 a.m. at the home in the 200 section of North 1400 Road. When firefighters from the Kanwaka Township Fire Department arrived, the home already had been destroyed, Chief Chris Lesser said.

“Everything was inside of the basement burning,” he said.

The cause remains under investigation, but firefighters have ruled out the possibility it was intentionally set.

Ten Kanwaka firefighters responded, along with six firefighters from the Clinton Township and Lecompton departments.

Damage was estimated at $100,000 for the building and its contents.

Gasoline Prices

Patrol seeks fuel deals

The Journal-World has found a gas price as low as $1.87 at several locations across Lawrence.

If you find a lower price, call Pump Patrol at 832-7154.