One person is dead following a single-vehicle crash along Antioch Road in Merriam on Tuesday evening.
Where exactly? Merriam Police were called to West 57th Street and Antioch Road at about 7:10 p.m. on reports that a car had crashed into a pole.
- That location is just across Antioch from the Merriam Town Center shopping complex.
What we know: Arriving officers reported that the driver was unresponsive.
- Overland Park Fire and Johnson County Med-Act were dispatched to the intersection at 7:12 p.m. Arriving firefighters reported one car with heavy damage.
- Paramedics first reported that the person was in critical condition.
- About 10 minutes later, the person was pronounced dead at the scene.
What else: The Shawnee Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit was called in to investigate the crash scene.
- Sergeant Nick Shurmantine of Shawnee’s Traffic Safety Unit tells the Post that the car was traveling northbound on Antioch when it crossed the road’s centerline and crashed head-on into a traffic signal pole located on the northwest corner of the intersection at one of the entrances to Merriam Town Center.
What else about Antioch Road crash
There is a traffic camera at the intersection.
- Shurmantine said officers would review footage from that camera as part of their investigation, but he wasn’t sure if the camera captured the crash or the moments leading up to it. He added that there was no indication that the driver attempted to brake before the crash.
- No other vehicles were involved.
Aftermath: Merriam officers closed the southbound lanes of Antioch Road at 57th Street, diverting that traffic eastbound on 57th Street.
- All lanes reopened by about 9:50 p.m. Tuesday night.
- Police were working on notifying the person’s next of kin late Tuesday.
- No identifying information about the deceased person has been released.
Check back with this report for updates as more information becomes available.
Mike Frizzell is a freelance crime and fire reporter who runs Operation 100 News and frequently reports and does photo assignments for the Post.
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