Man killed when floodwaters sweep car off Kansas Turnpike south of Emporia

A man in his 20s died around 5 p.m. Friday evening when floodwaters swept his car off of the Kansas Turnpike about six miles south of Emporia.

Lt. Mark Christesen, of the Kansas Highway Patrol, said the vehicle was northbound on I-35 when it hydroplaned off the road and into a ditch.

“The area had just received torrential rains,” he said. “The fields and creeks were flooded in the area.”

He said the car began floating in the water and was carried with the current to a culvert underneath the interstate, where it was sucked through. The driver of the vehicle was attempting to exit the car before it went through, Christesen said, but was “about half-in, half-out” when it went through.

The car was found about 50 to 75 yards downstream, he said. The driver was found outside of the vehicle, approximately 40 feet away.

Next-of-kin notifications have been made, but the victim’s name has not been released.

The interstate was closed for a while as floodwaters submerged it, and then traffic opened to one lane. Shortly after 9 p.m., all lanes were reopened.

The Lyon County Water Rescue was on the scene with boats to try to locate the vehicle, Christesen said. Kansas Highway Patrol troopers and local search-and-rescue crews were also on scene.

The incident occurred two miles north of Jacob Creek, where in 2003 flash flooding on the Kansas Turnpike killed six people as the waters swept cars into the creek. The victims included a mother and her four children, and a man who was working to rescue people from their cars.

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 10:39 PM with the headline "Man killed when floodwaters sweep car off Kansas Turnpike south of Emporia."