Posts tagged with Interstate 70
Interstate 70 reopens to one lane in each direction following tractor trailer accident and fire.
Updated Lawrence Journal-World report
6 a.m. Update: KDOT reports that one lane in eastbound and one lane westbound are now open again. Traffic continues to move slowly through the scene.
Original Report: If you are planning on commuting to work by way of the Kansas Turnpike early this morning, you are going to have to reconsider your route. As of 5 a.m., all eastbound and westbound traffic is being forced to exit the turnpike due to as serious injury accident about a mile east of the East Lawrence Interchange.
Douglas County firefighters from the Lawrence Department, Wakarusa Township fire responded, along with Reno Township Fire of Leavenworth County to the scene of an accident involving a tractor trailer near mile marker 205. The accident was dispatched around 4:20 this morning after dispatchers received numerous calls regarding a tractor trailer crash and fire in the median.
Douglas County Deputies were first to arrive on the scene and were able to report that the driver was out of the truck and reporting that the tank trailer is empty. Lawrence firefighters arrived on the scene to report that the tractor trailer had rolled to its side and sustained "major damage."
The driver of the truck has been transported by ambulance to Lawrence Memorial Hospital with serious injuries.
Incident command reports there is "significant debris" across the highway and a "diesel fuel leak." A Kansas Turnpike Authority representative has been requested to respond to the scene. It is unclear how long the roadway will remain blocked.
More on this accident can be found from Operation 100 News on Twitter or check back to this report as it will be updated as new details become available.
January 17th Early Morning Law Enforcement & Fire Medical wrap up
Things have been pretty calm around Douglas County in the early morning hours lately.
Still fairly quiet this morning, with the exception of a serious accident on Interstate 70.
At 1:55, Lawrence Fire Medical crews were dispatched to respond on an injury accident near mile marker 202 in the eastbound lanes of I-70. Crews located the accident at the 201.2 marker, which is between the west and east Lawrence interchanges. Two people were seriously injured when their vehicle rolled and came to rest on its top.
Initially crews requested two helicopters to respond to the scene but, the second was canceled a short time later after dispatchers learned that the second nearest helicopter would have a response time of nearly 30 minutes. LifeStar landed in the Hallmark parking lot and transported a female, while a medic unit transported a male. The female was said to have a head injury, the male possibly a broken leg. Both the male and female were said to be in their early 20's. The Kansas Highway Patrol continues to investigate.
More information on the accident can be found here from Operation 100 News, or here from my reporting partners at the Lawrence Journal-World.
Other than that, Police conducted the usual vehicle stops and responded on a few disturbances. Aside from the accident, no other serious injuries were reported.
Some of the activity blogged above was reported as it was unfolding by Operation 100 News. Learn how to receive breaking news updates here. For a full look at incidents from Douglas and Johnson counties this morning, take a look at the Operation 100 News twitter feed (link above), where the has been 80 tweets since midnight.
The activity blogged here is only a sampling of some of the things that Douglas County Law Enforcement and Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical respond on. To see a complete list of Lawrence Police activity, the department has that available on their website along with several easy to use maps that show approximate locations for Police activity.
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