Southern Kansas, KS : Three die in separate crashes at K-42 highway and 119th Street West in Sedgwick County on Wednesday, 12th February, 2020

Three people lost their lives in crashes Wednesday in the southern portion of Kansas, including two collisions that occurred about 10 minutes apart in Woodson County, authorities said.

• The first crash was reported at 7:44 a.m. Wednesday on US-75 highway, about 2 miles south of Yates Center.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the crash occurred when the driver of a 2007 Buick passenger car that was southbound on US-75 lost control of the vehicle, which spun around. The rear of the Buick then struck the front a 2016 Dodge Ram pickup truck that was traveling north on US-75.

The driver of the Buick, Laura L. Hegwald, 48, of Yates Center, was prounced dead at the scene. The patrol said Hegwald was wearing a seat belt.

The driver of the Dodge pickup truck, Michelle L. Lever, 38, of Neodesha, was reported uninjured. The patrol said Lever was wearing a seat belt.

• Another fatality crash was reported at 7:55 a.m. Wednesday on US-54 highway, about 2 miles east of Yates Center.

In that crash, the patrol said, a 2008 Chevrolet Express cargo van was westbound on US-54, lost control and struck a 2001 Dodge Ram pickup truck that was eastbound on US-54.

The driver of the Dodge pickup truck, Robert E. Cochran, 58, of Yates Center, was pronounced dead at the scene. The patrol said Cochran wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

The driver of the Chevrolet cargo van, Jeffrey A. Frericks, 52, of Marshalltown, Iowa, suffered serious injuries and was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka.

• Another fatality crash was reported at 1:05 p.m. Wednesday at K-42 highway and 119th Street West in Sedgwick County. The location was about 5 miles southwest of Wichita.

According to the patrol, a 2002 Ford Escape was traveling south on 119th Street when it ran a stop sign and was struck on its passenger side by 2010 Kenworth semi-trailer that was eastbound on K-42 highway.

The driver of the Ford, Stephanie Y. Diell, 45, of Dodge City, was taken to Ascension Via Christi St. Francis hospital in Wichita, where she was pronounced dead. The patrol said Diell was wearing a seat belt.

The driver of the semi, Gerald Morgan, 72, of Tulsa, Okla., was reported uninjured. The patrol said Morgan was wearing a seat belt.

In all of the crashes, the patrol said the driver was the only occupant of the vehicles.

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