Winter storm causes accidents
The second winter storm to hit Kansas within a week's time has caused a number of traffic accidents in the Wichita area and across the state.
Several people had minor injuries from several crashes on southbound I-135 near Newton in Harvey County. Two Harvey County sheriff's patrol cars were hit, but the deputies were not in the vehicles and were not hurt.
Pratt County Sheriff Vernon Chinn reported road conditions have been getting worse, with drifting causing county gravel and paved roads to be closed. He said the county was no longer plowing the county roads because of whiteout conditions, and roads are drifting faster than they can be opened. Chinn said all travel in Pratt County is next to impossible at this time.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said one fatality was blamed on the winter storm. The patrol said 21-year-old Carlos Esqueda of Kansas City, Kan., died when the SUV he was driving hit an icy patch and overturned on Interstate 70 in Sherman County just before 9 a.m. Monday.
Patrol Superintendent Col. Ernest Garcia said Esqueda was not wearing a seat belt. A passenger who was buckled in survived the crash.
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