KU student killed in collision with semi in eastern Kansas

A University of Kansas student was killed Friday night on U.S. Highway 169 in Anderson County after an out-of-control semi truck collided with the car he was driving, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol report.

Andrew Metcalf, a 19-year-old freshman from Independence, was a pre-medicine major in KU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, university spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson confirmed.

“I am profoundly saddened to learn of the death of one of our students,” Chancellor Douglas Girod said in a statement. “On behalf of the entire KU community, I offer my deepest condolences to Andrew Metcalf’s family and friends as they mourn this heartbreaking loss. We wish them comfort during this difficult time.”

The crash occurred just before 10 p.m. Friday, about two miles south of Welda near mile marker 92, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. The first vehicle, a semi truck, was travelling northbound on U.S. Highway 169 before running off the road, striking a concrete culvert and milepost sign. The driver overcorrected re-entering the roadway, colliding with the southbound-travelling Metcalf.

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Both vehicles came to rest in a nearby ditch, blocking both northbound and southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 169. The Kansas Highway Patrol report shows that Metcalf was transported to a nearby funeral home, indicating that he died at the scene.

The Kansas Highway Patrol report lists Thomas Nguyen, 42, of Houston, as the driver of the semi truck, along with one passenger, a 57-year-old Houston man. The men were not injured, according to the report.

Seatbelt use in the accident is under investigation, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.