Driver killed when semi overturns, catches fire southwest of McPherson

A semitrailer thought to be carrying diesel fuel or oil rolled over and caught fire southwest of McPherson on Wednesday, according to a news release from McPherson County emergency dispatchers.

The crash and resulting fire killed the driver, Kansas Highway Patrol trooper Ben Gardner said.

“We have no identifying characteristics at this time, due to the damage from the crash and the fire that was following,” Gardner said.

The call came in at around 3 p.m., according to the dispatcher. Soon after that, Gardner tweeted out a picture of the burning semi on K-153 southwest of McPherson. The fire went out at around 4 p.m., Gardner tweeted.

The crash happened near the National Cooperative Refinery, according to the release.

Gardner said there is a turn in the highway close to where the crash happened.

“We are unaware of why – if it is fatigue of the occupant driver, if it’s medical, if it’s inattention or a lot of other things – we don’t know,” Gardner said. “We do know the driver failed to navigate around this curve, resulting in it rolling over completely and starting a large fire.”

Deputies with the McPherson Fire Department were advised to let the fire burn out before attempting to quell it, Gardner said. Officials were able to access the cab by 6 p.m., but they have not found any identifying information, as the fire melted most data, Gardner said.

All traffic around the area was being detoured as of 4 p.m., according to the release.

The McPherson Fire Department, the McPherson County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol were at the scene.

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 4:11 PM with the headline "Driver killed when semi overturns, catches fire southwest of McPherson."