Police identify man killed in crash on I-135

Police have identified the man who died when a 2013 Kia Rio he was driving slammed into the rear of a disabled semitrailer truck Tuesday night on I-135.

The driver was identified as 29-year-old Wichitan David C. Bean Jr., according to a Kansas Highway Patrol crash log.

The crash also seriously injured a 23-year-old man, who was taken to Wesley Medical Center and discharged later Tuesday, according to a hospital supervisor.

Patrol Trooper Ryan Tauer said Bean was driving “at a high rate of speed” on northbound I-135 shortly before 10 p.m. when he lost control of the sedan just north of Mount Vernon. The car struck the semi and came to rest in a ditch, where it caught fire.

The 41-year-old driver of the semi, who had been waiting nearly three hours for a truck to come repair the ball bearings on his semi, grabbed a fire extinguisher and put out the flames. The car was never fully engulfed, Tauer said.

A passenger in the sedan had gotten out of the vehicle and began walking north, despite serious injuries to his legs, Tauer said. The driver of the semi, as well as residents in the surrounding neighborhood, came to give aid to the man, Tauer said.

A trooper who was assisting a motorist on southbound I-135 close to the crash scene witnessed part of it and was there within minutes, Tauer said.

When Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services arrived, the driver was pronounced dead and the passenger was taken in serious condition to Wesley Medical Center, according to a Sedgwick County emergency dispatcher.

Tauer said troopers think alcohol was involved in the crash. “There is some indication of drug use as well,” he said.

Tauer said the semi was “highly visible” and had all of its emergency equipment in use when the crash happened. Its hazard lights were also flashing, he said. He said it was “well off the road,” pulled over about 6 feet off the roadway. Its right tires were in the ditch.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Police identify man killed in crash on I-135."