photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

A Douglas County Sheriff's Office vehicle is pictured in January 2022.

The man who died in a head-on crash on 31st Street earlier this week has been identified as 48-year-old Lawrence resident Richard Douglas Smith, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

Smith was the driver of a Chevrolet Malibu that collided with a Dodge Ram pickup truck in the 600 block of East 31st Street on Wednesday night, as the Journal-World previously reported. By the time deputies arrived at the scene, Smith was dead, and the Dodge pickup truck had caught fire.

Three 18-year-old men who were in the truck had been removed from it before it caught fire, according to the sheriff’s office. One was taken to LMH Health with injuries that were not believed to be life threatening. The other two had serious injuries; one was taken to Overland Park Regional Medical Center, and one was taken by helicopter ambulance to the University of Kansas hospital. No updates on the men’s conditions were available on Friday.

The sheriff’s office said a preliminary investigation had found that the Malibu crossed the center line and struck the Dodge pickup truck head on.