Victims of deadly crash near Pratt on U.S. 54 were a Wichita mother and children
Authorities have identified the woman who was killed in a crash on U.S. 54 on Tuesday as a Wichita mother.
Kansas Highway Patrol crash logs named Lilia Barajas, 32, of Wichita, as a victim in the accident. The names, ages and gender of two children who were in Barajas’ vehicle were not released in the report, but KHP Trooper Chad Crittenden said all three victims were related.
“They were all family,” Crittenden said. “Mother and children.”
The crash was reported at 10:35 a.m. along westbound U.S. 54 at mile marker 136, which is just west of Pratt.
At the time, construction crews were performing mile-marking work and the driver of a semi towing a trailer had stopped at the construction zone waiting for a worker to flag him in order to pass.
Barajas was heading west on U.S. 54 in a 2021 Nissan Kicks with her two children in the backseat when the SUV rear-ended the trailer, the crash log said.
Barajas and the children died at the scene, Crittenden said.
The KHP is investigating what led to crash.
This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Victims of deadly crash near Pratt on U.S. 54 were a Wichita mother and children."