Tonganoxie — A Wednesday night traffic accident on U.S. Highway 24-40 west of Basehor claimed the life of a Tonganoxie teen.
Amanda Bixby, 19, was killed about 9:15 p.m. at 158th and U.S. Highway 24-40.
According to the Leavenworth County sheriff's office,
Bixby, the daughter of Dennis and Denise Bixby, was driving west on U.S. Highway 24-40 when a sports utility vehicle, heading north and driven by Ricardo De-Leon Flores, 20, Lansing, ran a stop sign and struck Bixby's vehicle.
Flores' SUV also struck another car, which had four occupants. None of them was transported to the hospital.
Officers cited Flores for vehicular homicide, failure to yield and no driver's license. He was arrested and taken to the Leavenworth County Jail.
Bixby was a 2005 Tonganoxie High School graduate.
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newsreader (anonymous) says…
Wow... thats horrible...
kujayhawk93 (anonymous) says…
I'll go out on a limb as well and assume that way, way more people are killed by licensed, American citizens than by illegal aliens. Trying to tie inattentive and negligent driving habits to immigration policies it completely absurd.
countrygirl (anonymous) says…
Can you get car insurance without a dr. license? I didn't think that you could. So that could complicate things even further for this poor family. My thoughts to the family.
lonelyboy (anonymous) says…
THEY have ways of getting around it .
adky (anonymous) says…
How many tragic incidents like this will it take for us to stop foreigners driving in this country? Not just illegals - ban all foreigners. The more privilages we remove the less likely they will want to come.
00jester (anonymous) says…
Wow....just wow
Centrist (anonymous) says…
America is made up of foreigners ... it is an immigrant nation, dude.
The real issue here is that a guy ran a stop sign and was driving without a licence.
The girl should NEVER have been hit by his car in the first place.
I feel absolutely awful for her family.
adky (anonymous) says…
This is the third fatal accident in this area in the last year involving foreign drivers. And those are the ones I know about, and remember.
Foreigners may not understand our signs (many don't speak English and last time I looked the signs are in English). Also these guys have different rules. We all drive at times using our unthinking, instinctive minds. Foreigners react differently at these times because they were trained in a different environment. The only way to prevent more incidents is to ban them from driving on our roads.
Kontum1972 (anonymous) says…
lets declare war...!
Kontum1972 (anonymous) says…
declare war and let dic cheney sort them out..war now!
oldgoof (anonymous) says…
countrygirl asks:"Can you get car insurance without a dr. license? I didn't think that you could. So that could complicate things . . ."
.
FYI.....This is one of the express reasons many legislators cite in proposals to allow undocumented workers the ability to obtain state drivers licenses. The argument is they are here, are driving every day, and that they ought to be insured.... and that enforcement of immigration is a federal issue, not a state one.
Sigmund (anonymous) says…
Illegal immigrants are breaking US Federal Law. What leads anyone to believe they will obey Kansas traffic laws? Legal immigrants are a completely different subject and we don't need to confuse this discussion.
lonelyboy (anonymous) says…
Thank you Dambudzo ...
ljreader (anonymous) says…
We really have no idea that the killer was an illegal immigrant.
It speaks volumes, though, that death by illegal aliens has become so common in this country, that we jump to that conclusion.
Like Sigmund pointed out- Illegal aliens show absolutely NO respect for our sovereignty or laws- why in the world would they get driver's licenses and pay for insurance- Last time I checked, car insurance isn't something they can get for free from the taxpayers- and they already forge their own driver's licenses- doubt they are interested.
And oldgoof- There are over 6000 languages in this world- just how many of those are we responsible for using when printing driver's manuals, tests, and traffic signs ?
Just one? Spanish? That hardly seems fair. Lets spoon feed people who are the most likely to come here illegally, and the least likely to learn English while law abiding immigrants wait YEARS to come here, and show enough respect for our customs and culture to learn English.
Also- we are NOT a nation of immigrants- most of the people living in the US today are natives- they were born here.
Enforcement through attrition is the only way to solve this problem. Those we don't deport will self deport when they have no jobs, free education, food, housing, credit cards, and all the other ways they are being aided and abetted.
ljreader (anonymous) says…
BTW, Regardless of the circumstances, my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of this young lady whose life has been cut short.
Sigmund (anonymous) says…
My condolences as well. Only 19 years old, simply tragic.
janeyb (anonymous) says…
Condolences to Amanda's family. Heartbreaking situation much like the KU student/EMT who was killed in the crash by the man here illegally with a record of DUI's and other arrests. Doesn't it take a few days for charges to be filed in many accidents? There was some reason for them to arrest and charge Mr. Flores so quickly.
I agree undocumented/illegal workers should not have access to a Kansas driver's license. However, I was in a grocery store recently when an hispanic man was trying to buy beer. He at least pretended to speak only Spanish, and appeared to be at least 30 years old, but his driver's license claimed he was 19. I snuck a peak and his picture was on it. He was mad, but I thought "Dude, spend some money and get yourself a better fake." I saw him drive out of the parking lot with a couple of kids in the car -- a fake license, with probably stolen tags and no insurance. It is a problem, and we have to come up with a solution.
chiherosw (anonymous) says…
I was a close friend of Amanda's and if there is something you guys need to know is that she was one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. She always had a smile on her face. She was always active in the community and church. She had a voice of an angel when she sang. If ever she walked into the room, tension was lifted and people began to relax and have a fun time. She had dreams just like everyone else and she will be greatly missed by all of her friends and family.
benny04 (anonymous) says…
Thanks, Chihero! I am also a close friend of Amanda's, especially over the past six months or so, when we were in the same Sunday School class and attended church service together. This is not a matter dealing with illegal immigrants or anything of the sort! A teenager was killed in a car accident, causing tremendous pain for her family, friends, and community. Isn't that a big enough problem? Why do we have to involve other unimportant things in this situation? Let Amanda's friends, family, and community have the opportunity to mourn the loss of such a wonderful young woman. She will be greatly missed by all!
Traci_A (anonymous) says…
Just for clarification the driver was an illegal. The car was hit so hard that there was nothing left of the passenger side. There was no stop attempted.
Lets make this what it really is about - that a very sweet beautiful young girl lost her life. Her parents lost their only child.
God rest Amanda - you were a good girl and will be missed greatly.
compmd (anonymous) says…
Obamillary said:
"That is probably why they are holding him in the Leavenworth County jail. "
No, he's being held in Leavenworth County jail because the accident was in Leavenworth County. TFA clearly states that he was charged with vehicular homicide and no drivers license, either of which will get you arrested. Determining legal residency doesn't happen in the blink of an eye, the police on the scene couldn't give a flying fsck at a rolling donut if he was an illegal alien, he just killed a girl. That was what they had to deal with.
bevy (anonymous) says…
My prayers and thoughts are with her family. The rest of you who are ranting about immigration here - get a heart. and a life. i don't disagree with everything that has been said on the subject, but this is not the place for this discussion.
May God hold her family and friends close during this time of tragedy.
yellowhouse (anonymous) says…
only god knows why!
You left me behind in total surprise
An extraordinary life now through
Only now I have come to realize
the passionate spirit living in you
I walked into your empty room
your journal still on your bed
Inside the pages I saw through your eyes
Such beauty in the words I read.
You wrote about faith, your friends and your days
Your deep spiritual connection was good
So often you tried, sometimes you failed
and sometimes you were just misunderstood
Your vision was to make a difference
I know that vision has surely come true
Your legacy of friendship, and passion for life
will be remebered by all who knew you!
Turning the pages now stained with my tears
I wonder how God could let you tragically die?
I realize your not dead, You have just gone on ahead
Only God knows why!
Rach_5647 (anonymous) says…
Amanda was one of the sweets people I knew, she never had anything bad to say about anyone. It is always hard to lose someone and I hope you all keep her family and friends in your pray. We will miss her
ASBESTOS (anonymous) says…
To Amanda's family:
We lost our youngest brother in the very exact same type of circumstances. That is why I am so anti illegal alien. This hurt don't go away, and is very difficult to deal with. IT is about losing a loved one. BUt AFTER the funeral, After the days spent not wanting to get out of bed, after all the anger, anter all the sadness, you realize the simple truth:
She would be here and alive, if this illegal alien wasn't.
bearded_gnome (anonymous) says…
condolences to her family, and to you asbestos. thanks, asbestos, for sharing that from your personal story. my father died a drunk driver; you might say he killed himself and nearly killed three touristas.