Man involved in Wichita fatal wreck left scene before being arrested, trooper says

A 28-year-old Wichita man has been arrested in connection to a Monday morning wreck on I-135 in Wichita that killed one person and left two others seriously injured, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

The man arrested, Luis Fernando Ramos-Tafolla, also had minor injuries and was taken to Wesley Medical Center before being booked into Sedgwick County Jail, troopers said. A jail mugshot shows his right eye swollen shut. He took off from the wreck on foot but was later arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, driving without a license aggravated battery and driving under the influence, according to trooper Chad Crittenden.

He said Ramos-Tafolla was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol.

Jessie Lee Johnson died in the wreck. The 60-year-old Wichita man was driving a 1999 Toyota Camry Solara southbound in the right lane on I-135 near 13th when he was rear-ended by Ramos-Tafolla, who was driving a 2017 Dodge Charger, a trooper wrote in the KHP crash log.

Two people in Johnson’s vehicle — a 62-year-old man and 53-year-old woman, both from Wichita — were taken to area hospitals with suspected serious injuries.

Troopers responded to the wreck at 2:23 a.m. Monday.

The collision caused Ramos-Tafolla’s vehicle to hit a concrete barrier and light pole before the vehicle was “vaulted over the edge” of I-135, the trooper wrote. He “struck the (on-ramp) from 13th ... before landing under” I-135, the trooper wrote.

Johnson’s vehicle hit a concrete barrier before stopping in the left lane, the trooper wrote.

Ramos-Tafolla took off after the wreck, Crittenden said. He was arrested nearby after Wichita police reported someone on foot not far from the crash, he said.

The woman injured in the wreck was listed in fair condition Wednesday, according to Ascension Via Christi staff. A Wesley Medical Center spokesperson did not immediately respond with an update on the injured man’s condition.

This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 10:07 AM.