EMPORIA, Kan. (KAKE) - One semi driver was killed when his rig crashed into another that was parked on the shoulder of the Kansas Turnpike on Monday.
The accident happened shortly after 10 p.m. on northbound I-35 near mile marker 121, which is southwest of Emporia. The Kansas Highway Patrol’s crash log says an International truck was parked on the right shoulder when a Peterbilt truck drifted onto the shoulder and hit the rear of the parked truck.
The 35-year-old man driving the Peterbilt, Yuriy Lendel of Nixa, Missouri, died at the scene. The patrol reports he was not wearing a seat belt.
The 28-year-old driver of the parked semi was being treated for minor injuries.
It’s unclear what caused Lendel to drift onto the northbound shoulder.