AAA, KDOT offers tips to avoid vehicle-deer accidents

KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- October marks the beginning of deer mating season and AAA encourages drivers to use caution on the roads to avoid becoming involved in a collision with a deer. Each year nationally, more than one million crashes are caused by deer.

The most recent report from the Kansas Department of Transportation shows that since 2001 vehicle collisions with deer have resulted in 53 fatalities and 6,374 injuries.

Each year Kansas drivers experience 10,000 vehicle deer collisions. Additionally, in more than a dozen rural Kansas counties deer crashes account for 5 to 7 out of every 10 motor vehicle crashes.

“It is essential that drivers stay focused and alert especially when driving in densely populated deer areas,” said AAA EVP, Jim Hanni. “The highest risk times are from sunset to midnight, followed by - shortly before and after sunrise”.

AAA offers these tips to reduce the likelihood of being involved in a vehicle-deer crash:

• Scan the road and shoulders ahead of you. Looking ahead helps provide enough reaction time if a deer is spotted. Also, remember deer often move in groups, so when there is one deer, there are usually more in the area.

• Use high beam headlights if there’s no oncoming traffic. Deer may be spotted sooner when using high beams—allowing time to slow down, move over or beep to scare the deer away.

• If a collision is unavoidable, apply the brakes firmly and remain in your lane. Swerving to avoid a deer can often cause a more serious crash or result in drivers losing control of vehicles.

• Be extra cautious at dawn and dusk. Drivers should exercise extra caution early in the morning and at dusk because deer tend to be more active at these times.

• Drivers should always wear a seat belt and remain awake, alert, and sober.

Man killed in Leavenworth Road car accident

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department's Traffic Support Unit/Critical Collision team is investigating a fatality accident on 133rd and Leavenworth Road.

Officers were dispatched to the scene shortly after 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.

When arriving on the scene, they discovered a white male in his 50's dead inside of a vehicle.

Police have determined the accident happened during the overnight hours. The car veered off the street and into a creek, according to a KCK Police Department news release.

The identity of the man has not been released as of yet.

Man hit, killed by car on 18th Street

A man was killed Monday afternoon after a car struck him in the area of 18th Street and Metropolitan Avenue.

Described as a "male in his 60's" by police officers, he was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The accident happened at around 3:30 p.m. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and talked to the police department.

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department's Traffic Support/Critical Collision Response Team and KCKPD Major Case Unit is investigating the accident.

Information about the victim is unavailable at this time.

KCKPD releases identity of man killed in Sunday car accident

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department has identified the person killed in Sunday night's car accident.

Curtis Moore, 55, was riding his motorcycle when it collided with a car on 32nd and Parallel Avenue Sunday evening.

An 11-year-old child was sitting behind Moore, but he suffered just non life-threatening injuries.

Man killed, 11-year-old hurt in accident

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

A man was killed Sunday evening in an accident after a vehicle struck a motorcycle.

According to the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department, the accident happened in the intersection of 32nd and Parallel Parkway just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday night.

Police say the motorcycle was traveling west on Parallel Parkway. A car was heading east on Parallel Parkway. The car turned northbound, accidentally striking the motorcycle.

Officers found a man described as a "black male in his 50s" dead. He was driving the motorcycle.

An 11-year-old boy was on the back of the motorcycle and suffered non-life threatening injuries. He was taken to the hospital.

The driver of the car remained on the scene and was unharmed.

The accident is being investigated by the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department's Traffic Support Unit and Critical Collision Response Team.


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Bonner Springs man, 34, after fight on road

By GEORGE DIEPENBROCK, The Lawrence Journal-World

Lenexa police said a Bonner Springs man who died early Wednesday morning after he was involved in a roadside fight on Interstate 435 had been traveling in a minivan from Eudora to the Kansas City area.

Police Thursday identified Joshua N. Williams, 34, as the man who died. Master Police Officer Dan Friesen, a Lenexa police spokesman, said Williams was with three other people in the minivan, when he got into an argument — for an unknown reason — with another person in the back seat of the minivan.

The argument became physical, prompting the driver to stop in the eastbound lanes on I-435 just west of Lackman Road.

Williams and others exited the vehicle south of the highway where a fight continued, and at some point during the altercation Williams collapsed. Other occupants of the vehicle called for medical assistance at 3:47 a.m.

Medics took Williams to an area hospital where he later died. Officers questioned three people with the vehicle and released them.

“No charges have been filed pending autopsy results and further review by the Johnson County district attorney’s office,” Friesen said.

Two killed in Sunday accident

Two people were killed in a car accident early Sunday morning in Wyandotte County.

Alexis J. Medina and Karla Robledo, both 18 years old, were killed in a car accident shortly after 3 a.m. at Roe Avenue and Interstate 35.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the SUV that contained the teens crashed into a bridge pillar, catching fire in the process.

Along with Medina and Robledo, five other people in the vehicle were ejected following the collision. Their conditions are unknown at this point.

An investigation is on-going. Medina and Robledo were both residents of Kansas City, Mo.

Separate motorcycle accidents kill two

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

Two people were killed this weekend in separate motorcycle accidents in Kansas City, Kan.

The first accident happened at about 11 p.m. Saturday evening.

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department responded to 47th and Parallel Parkway on an injury report accident. When arriving on the scene, officers found a dead man, described as a white male in his 40's.

According to the KCKPD, both vehicles were heading west. The fatality victim was driving a motorcycle when he was accidentally struck from behind by a truck. The driver of the truck was not injured and remained on the scene.

Accident number two happened shortly after midnight.

Two people were riding a motorcycle when it crashed on 37th Street and South Mill Street. The man driving the motorcycle was killed; a female passenger survived the crash.

It was the only vehicle in the accident. Officers are currently investigating both crashes.

KCKPD headquarters to host "Distracted Driver Simulator"

The Kansas City, Kan., Police Department will be hosting a "Distracted Driving Simulator" on Tuesday, June 19.

The headquarters of the police department - located at 700 Minnesota Avenue - will host the event from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. next Tuesday morning.

Drivers will get a first hand look at texting and other distracting behaviors can lead to tragedy while on the road.

More from a news release:

Come to the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department Headquarters, at 700 Minnesota Ave. on Tuesday, June 19th from 0900-1000 hours to experience firsthand how much is on the line when you text; talk on the phone or engage in other distracting behaviors while driving.

With the help of a distracted driving simulator, members of the media and public, can experience (in a safe environment) the hazards associated with distracted driving in everyday situations.

See what happens to your diving focus when your phone rings at the same time a child chases a ball that has rolled through traffic; experience your compromised response time in severe weather when you're reading a text, notice how long it takes to see the pedestrian crossing the road when you're checking for emails.

Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving. All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety.

And it's a serious problem: In 2010, 3,092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and an estimated additional 416,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver. It's especially common among young people: 40% of all American teens say they have been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put people in danger.

Please come experience the distracted driving simulator and see for yourself what happens when you're mind isn't fully on the road ahead.

The event is presented by The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with support from the Iowa Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau.

KCMO teen hurt in accident

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

A Kansas City, Mo., teenager was hurt in an accident in Wyandotte County late Sunday morning.

Jacob Hubbert, 18, was injured after he lost control of his vehicle while traveling eastbound on Interstate 70. The accident happened at 11:53 a.m. on Sunday.

After he lost control of his vehicle, the car went off the roadway and hit the structural support beam for Interstate 435.

Hubbert was taken to the University of Kansas Hospital.

No one else was involved in the accident.

KCK school bus in accident, two sent to hospital

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

A Kansas City, Kan., school bus and a van were involved in a car accident this morning at around the area of 13th Street and Greeley Avenue.

The bus, which had school children in it, hit the van shortly after 7 a.m. on Thursday morning.

Kansas City, Kan., police are investigating the accident.

In regards to injuries, KMBC Channel 9 news is reporting that two people have been sent to the hospital in connection to the accident.

More information when available.

Alcohol-related traffic fatalities in Kansas down

By SHAUN HITTLE, The Lawrence Journal-World

Kansas saw a sharp decrease in the number of alcohol-related traffic fatalities this year — from 138 in 2010 to 76 in 2011 — according to preliminary data released by the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Can Kansas chalk up the good news to the state’s new DUI ignition interlock law, in effect since July?

It’s a little early to tell, said Pete Bodyk, traffic safety manager for KDOT. The law requires even first-time DUI offenders to install an ignition interlock on any automobile they drive.

“Hopefully it’s the start of a downward trend,” Bodyk said.

Kansas had lagged behind the country in reducing alcohol-related fatalities, seeing increases in recent years as numbers dropped across the country. Alcohol-related traffic fatalities averaged 116 between 2000 and 2010 in the state.

Kansas also saw about a 12 percent drop in alcohol-related accidents, from 2,801 in 2010 to 2,463 in 2011.

Bodyk said the decreases are probably the result of a combination of factors, including the new law and the intense media coverage of it. Bodyk also cited increased commitment by police agencies across the state to crack down on drunken driving.

“I think law enforcement is doing a better job,” Bodyk said.

Karen Housewright, director of field operations for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, praised efforts to curb drunken driving in Kansas, which joined 14 others states to enact a first-time offender ignition interlock law. Most states have some form of ignition interlock law, but some only apply to repeat DUI offenders.

While it’s impossible to say exactly how the law affected the numbers, the growing evidence is clear, Housewright said.

“We know they (ignition interlocks) save lives,” Housewright said. “The evidence is hard to refute.”

A recently released study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that an ignition interlock law in Washington state reduced DUI reoffending for first-time DUI offenders by 11 percent.

But another finding from the study was that only one-third of those convicted under Washington’s law actually applied for an ignition interlock. That raises the possibility that some drivers convicted of a DUI might continue to simply drive without the interlock, said Anne McCart, co-author of the study.

Drivers convicted of a DUI must apply to the Kansas Department of Revenue for a modified license and prove they have an ignition interlock installed. Between July 1 and March 2, the state received 2,991 such applications, said Jeannine Koranda, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Revenue.

There are additional updates to the last year’s DUI law being considered by the Kansas Legislature that could further strengthen the law, Bodyk said.

Senate Bill 453, currently in committee, would make refusing an alcohol breath test a misdemeanor that carries the same penalty as a positive test. Currently, refusing a breath test results is an automatic one-year license suspension, but it is not a criminal violation.

Wisconsin resident identified as car accident victim

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

Kristen J. Shockley, 34, has been identified as the victim of yesterday’s car accident near the General Motors Fairfax Plant.

Shockley was a Janesville, Wisc., resident.

The accident happened Monday morning and the accident remains under investigation by the Kansas City, Kan., Police Department’s Major Case Unit and Traffic Support Unit/Critical Response Team.  

Man killed in car accident on Fairfax Trafficway

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

The Kansas City Kansas Police Department has confirmed that a “white male in his 40’s” was killed in a car accident early this morning on the 3200 Block of Fairfax Trafficway.

Police responded to an accident at the scene at 7 a.m. Monday morning.

The victim was riding on a motorcycle when a truck struck him.

According to a statement from the KCKPD, the man in the truck remained at the scene and did not flee. 

“The preliminary investigation indicates that a motorcycle traveling North bound on Fairfax Trafficway collided with a pickup truck,” according to the KCKPD. “A white male, in his 40’s, died from injuries sustained in the accident. The driver of the truck remained on the scene.”

The identity of the motorcyclist will not be announced until the family is notified. The accident happened near the General Motors plant in the area.