Head-on crash kills Topeka woman, injures passenger

A head-on collision between a car and a semitruck killed an 82-year-old Topeka woman and injured her 85-year-old passenger Thursday morning near Hillsboro.

The Kansas Highway Patrol said Joyce A. Smith was driving a 2011 Buick LaCrosse westbound on U-56 when she failed to yield, pulled into oncoming traffic and was hit by the semi. Smith died; an elderly Marion woman riding with her was taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita for treatment. Her condition was unknown late Thursday evening.

The collision happened around 10:25 a.m. at U-56 and Ash Street in Hillsboro, according to the highway patrol. The 29-year-old Hesston man driving the semi was not hurt.

This story was originally published September 4, 2014 at 10:34 PM with the headline "Head-on crash kills Topeka woman, injures passenger."