A man was killed in a traffic accident in the southwest part of Wichita; it happened after 1:00 p.m. Wednesday on I-235, south of Highway K-42.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says an Illinois-based semi-truck/tractor pulling a trailer with Indiana plates had pulled over on the right shoulder on I-235; the semi- then began to merge into the right lane of north-bound traffic on I-235, and began accelerating up to interstate speeds.
A cargo van was also in that lane, coming up from behind, and was not able to stop in time, hitting the rear left corner of the trailer.
The passenger in the van, 49-year-old Justin Higgins of Wichita, was taken to Via Christi-St. Francis hospital in downtown Wichita; he died from his injuries about four-and-a-half hours after the crash. He was not wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the van, 37-year-old Levi Hauserman of Wichita, was also taken to St. Francis hospital with a suspected minor injury.
The driver of the semi-truck, a 26-year-old man from Florida, was not injured.