Kansas trooper: Three people died, two children injured and three dogs killed in wreck

Three people died, two children were injured and three greyhound dogs were killed in a two-vehicle wreck Friday near Hillsboro, according to Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Ben Gardner.

The wreck was reported as “nearly head-on” around noon on U.S. 56 in Marion County, he said.

Gardner said the evidence appears to show the wreck happened when a man driving a Dodge Caravan east on U.S. 56 crossed over the center line. He died and the two children in car seats were taken to a Wichita hospital for injuries.

“They don’t believe they are life-threatening though, but they are significant enough to get them down to Wichita,” he said.

The two people in a Ford pickup headed westbound both died, he said, as well as three greyhound dogs that were in an enclosed trailer being pulled behind the truck. Relatives that were following the pickup said there were up to 20 greyhound dogs in the trailer and the ones that survived took off after the wreck, he said.

The Greyhound Hall of Fame is in Abilene, which is in the neighboring county of Dickinson.

“There are a lot of breeders ... in and around these surrounding counties,” he said.