Wichita man in stolen Garden City-owned truck killed in Colorado crash

A 30-year-old Wichita man died after crashing a stolen Garden City-owned truck into a semi in Colorado last week, the Garden City Police Department said Tuesday.

At around 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Nicholas Morris Seigle tried to steal a vehicle at a Love’s Travel Stop in Garden City, according to a Garden City news release. Seigle reportedly pushed a man and said he was taking his vehicle but the victim was able to hold onto the keys and ran to the store for help.

Seigle left in a Kia Soul.

Officers were then called about a stolen truck at a city-owned maintenance shop before noon. The keys were left in the GMC, Sgt. Lana Urteaga said. She said the building has a gated area but didn’t know if it was locked or even closed up since it was during the day.

The Kia Soul was found around the same time, abandoned in a nearby alley. Urteaga said the vehicle belongs to someone in Wichita that was known to Seigle.

About three hours later, Garden City police were notified by the Colorado State Patrol that the stolen truck and its driver were in a fatal wreck, according to the release.

The State Patrol reported that the 2003 GMC 1500 driven by Seigle went into the other lane while going around a curve and collided head on with a Kenworth semi pulling an empty trailer about 5 miles east of Eads, Colo.

“Alcohol, drugs and speed do not appear to be factors in the crash at this time,” the CSP said in a news release.

Seigle died at the scene.

The 65-year-old truck driver from Texas was flown to a hospital in serious but stable condition, according to the CSP.

This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 1:25 PM.