Oklahoma man killed when semi crashes into his car on Kansas highway, troopers say

State troopers say an Oklahoma man was killed in a crash when a semi struck his car on a Kansas highway.

Trooper Rick Wingate of the Kansas Highway Patrol said on Twitter that the critical highway accident response team has been activated for a deadly crash at the junction of U.S. 54 and K-99 in Greenwood County.

State troopers responded at around noon Thursday to the wreck involving a commercial motor vehicle and a passenger vehicle at the highway junction east of Eureka, Wingate said.

A KHP crash report states that a 1968 Chevy El Camino was northbound on K-99 and “failed to yield at the intersection” with U.S. 54. An eastbound 1995 Kenworth semi then collided with the car, and both vehicles came to rest in a ditch.

The driver of the El Camino, identified as 53-year-old Terrence Joseph Lucas, of Eucha, Oklahoma, was pronounced dead at the Greenwood County Hospital, the crash report states. The 64-year-old Eureka man driving the semi was taken to the hospital with suspected minor injuries.

The Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office has blocked traffic on U.S. 54, and drivers must use an alternate route. The Kansas Department of Transportation said the detour will run traffic on K-99 south and on County Road S north. The closure of U.S. 54 is expected to last into Thursday evening.

This story was originally published February 28, 2019 at 3:37 PM.