By Associated Press
HAYS, Kan. (AP) Highways are reopening in western Kansas after a blizzard coated the area with snow and caused numerous wrecks.
The Kansas Department of Transportation says only small stretches of Kansas 27 and 51 in the extreme southwest corner of the state remained closed Friday.
Officials have been gradually reopening roads, including a stretch of Interstate 70 that temporarily closed Thursday when the storm hit, dumping from 8 inches to 12 inches (20 to 30 centimeters) in some areas.
Minutes after announcing the interstate’s closure, the Kansas State Highway Patrol received a report a report that a tractor-trailer had rear-ended a sport utility vehicle on the snow-covered roadway east of Colby. The patrol says 16-old Jackson Buerge, of Overland Park, was riding in the SUV and died at a hospital.
