On video, SUV in deadly turnpike accident went wrong way

Law enforcement officials continued their investigation Tuesday into the head-on accident that killed four Wichitans on the Kansas Turnpike in Sumner County.

"We're still piecing things together," Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Joe Bott said.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Hana Choi remained in critical condition at Wesley Medical Center, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

She underwent back surgery Tuesday afternoon, said Mark Park, a family member.

Hana was the only one to survive in the family's minivan after it was struck head-on by an SUV going the wrong way in the southbound lane of the turnpike early Monday morning. Her mother, twin sister and younger brother were killed.

Gregory Davis, 27, the driver of the 1995 Chevrolet SUV, was also killed.

Reginald Jones, 37, the driver of a southbound semi, was in good condition Tuesday at Via Christi Regional Medical Center-St. Francis, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Jones' semi struck the rear of the 2005 Dodge van immediately after it was hit by the SUV.

Trying to learn why the SUV was going the wrong way is a key part of the investigation.

Much of what investigators do know comes from an outdoor video camera at the EZ Go gas station at the Belle Plaine service area.

Bott said the camera shows Davis' SUV was southbound about 4:30 a.m. Monday, when he went into the service area. The footage also showed Davis going into the gas station.

"When he left the service area," Bott said, "he went back north on the southbound side.

"We don't actually see him going down the ramp, but he obviously did. We know he was going the wrong way in the service area."

Davis drove about five miles northbound in the southbound lanes before colliding with the van, Kansas Turnpike Authority spokeswoman Lisa Callahan said.

Killed in the family's van were the mother, Kyoung Yeon Chae, 39, who was driving; Yuna Choi, 17, Hana's twin sister; and Seo Won Choi, 9.

The family was on its way to a family reunion in Oklahoma City. Eunseo Choi, Chae's husband and the children's father, stayed home because he had to work.

Bott said blood samples were taken from the drivers of all three vehicles and have been sent to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation for a toxicology report.

Typically it takes about a month to get a report back. "They have a pretty high backlog," Bott said.

The Highway Patrol will request the KBI put a rush on the analysis, but even then it will probably be three weeks before results will be available, he said.

This story was originally published March 17, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "On video, SUV in deadly turnpike accident went wrong way."