Driver killed in wreck on flood-damaged road

A man was killed this morning in a rollover wreck on a flood-damaged Franklin County road after he drove around a barricade.

The man, who was not identified by age or hometown, was driving a Chevrolet truck north on Idaho Road about half a mile south of Kansas Highway 68 five miles west of Ottawa, according to a statement from Franklin County Sheriff Craig Davis. The wreck occurred about 6 a.m.

The truck struck a hole in the road and a front tire blew out, causing the man to lose control of the vehicle, according to the accident report. The truck skidded into the west ditch and rolled several times before landing on its wheels in a field.

The man was not wearing a seat belt, and he was thrown from the truck. The county’s coroner pronounced him dead at the scene.

Davis said that portion of the road was closed due to the flooding two weeks ago. The man’s family has not been notified, so the sheriff’s department was withholding his identity. Sheriff’s officers are still investigating, and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers are assisting.