The Kansas Highway Patrol says a Missouri man was killed following a crash on Interstate 435 in Leawood on Saturday afternoon.
According to the Highway Patrol’s online crash log, the crash occurred at 3:41 p.m. on westbound I-435, just east of Mission Road.
According to the log, a driver in a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck was traveling west when, “for an unknown reason,” he veered off the highway into the right-hand-side ditch.
The truck then struck a crash attenuator, a roadside barrier meant to absorb crash impact, and continued westbound. The truck then struck a signpost and stopped in the ditch on the north side of the interstate.
The Kansas Highway Patrol identified the victim as Samuel Franks, 80, of Independence, Missouri.
According to the crash log, Franks was wearing a seatbelt.
Overland Park Fire and Johnson County Med-Act paramedics responded to the scene and found the truck down an embankment in a ravine, according to recorded radio traffic.
Responding ambulances were told to park in the parking lot of the Mission 106 apartments at the Mission Farms complex on Mission Road.
At 3:55 p.m., firefighters reported that the person was found in the truck not breathing.
At 3:58 p.m., firefighters asked dispatchers to add fire units to the call to assist with a “low angle rescue,” which typically involves moving a person up a slope using ropes and anchors.
No other vehicles, drivers, or passengers were listed as involved in the crash.
Mike Frizzell contributed to this report.
