Kansas father killed, wife and young children injured in accident with semi-truck

A Kansas father was killed and his wife and their young children were injured after their vehicle was rear-ended by a semi-truck Wednesday night in Pottawatomie County.

Randy Tinkel, 37, of Wamego was driving a truck when he was killed in the four-vehicle accident, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. Jillian Tinkel, 36, and two boys, ages 2 and 7, were also in the truck. They were taken to hospitals with suspected serious injuries. Facebook and a fundraiser show they are a family.

A 34-year-old St. Mary’s woman who was rear-ended by the semi was also taken to a hospital with suspected serious injuries.

The accident was reported around 5:33 p.m. It happened when the St. Mary’s woman, driving an SUV, was stopped and waiting to make a turn, the KHP reported. Randy Tinkel was coming to a stop behind the woman when both vehicles were rear-ended by a semi-truck driven by a 44-year-old Lecompton man. He wasn’t injured. Another vehicle was hit by debris from the accidents but no one was injured. The original KHP report only mentioned three vehicles being involved in the wreck.

The KHP crash log did not say why the driver didn’t stop. A call to the KHP wasn’t returned.

The SUV driven by the woman came to rest on one side of the road and the truck driven by Tinkel ended up on its roof on the other side, the KHP crash log says. Tinkel’s Facebook page shows he owns a company that drives semi-trucks.

A GoFundMe for the family has raised over $9,500 to help with “whatever they need.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect updated information from the Kansas Highway Patrol.

This story was originally published August 11, 2022 at 1:53 PM.