A two-car crash around 6:30 p.m. Thursday on northbound Interstate 35 near 75th Street in Overland Park left one person with critical injuries and a second person with non-life-threatening injuries, shutting down multiple lanes of the highway in the process.
The crash was reported Thursday night, according to KSHB 41 Kansas City, which first reported that one driver suffered critical injuries while the other person involved was treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. The outlet reported that multiple lanes of northbound I-35 remained closed in the aftermath near the 75th Street area.
The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating what caused the crash, per the same report. No further details on the vehicles involved or the sequence of events have been released.
A Stretch of Highway With a Troubled Track Record
Thursday's wreck adds to a growing list of incidents along this particular section of I-35. The station's report on recurring crashes found that there have been 14 car accidents near I-35 and 75th Street since the beginning of April, with wrecks happening not just during rush hour but at all hours of the day.
Part of the trouble, per that same account, traces back to the road's design: a 1.5-mile stretch near the I-35/75th Street interchange narrows from six lanes down to three. That bottleneck dates to a 2012 KDOT project that connected I-69 to I-35 with an exit ramp to 75th Street — a three-year, nearly $84 million undertaking.
Overland Park has said it had not received reports from drivers about major problems at the intersection but would be willing to work with the Kansas Department of Transportation to look into a solution if a problem exists. KDOT, for its part, has said it reviews highway-safety data when planning future improvements.
Other Recent Crashes Along the Corridor
Thursday's crash is not an isolated event on this stretch of interstate. A serious-injury crash shut down northbound I-35 at Antioch Road in Overland Park on a Sunday night, according to KMBC, which reported that police said the wreck involved a motorcycle and a vehicle, leaving the motorcyclist in critical condition. Overland Park police diverted traffic onto Antioch Road, and the interstate reopened early the following morning.
In another incident along the same corridor, a 52-year-old woman was killed after losing control of her SUV while exiting I-35 in Johnson County on a Monday, according to KSN News. That crash was reported at about 10 a.m. on the northbound I-35 ramp to West 75th Street in Overland Park, the same area where Thursday's two-car crash occurred. The driver in that incident was identified as Angela Carter of Olathe and was pronounced dead.
Drivers looking for details on recent wrecks can check the Kansas Highway Patrol's online crash log, which provides preliminary injury or fatality crash information for 14 days after an event and can remain searchable for up to 30 days if updated, per the Kansas Highway Patrol.
