Lyon County, KS — February 18, 2025, seven people were injured in a series of accidents at about 1:10 p.m. on the Kansas Turnpike/Interstate 35.
Authorities said several crashes occurred on the turnpike as a winter storm struck the area. Media reports indicate several semi-trucks were involved.
Emergency personnel transported seven people to a local hospital with unspecified injuries, according to authorities.
Authorities have not released any additional information about the crashes southwest of Emporia that shut down the turnpike for past of the afternoon.
Commentary by Attorney Michael Grossman
Crashes involving multiple vehicles and semi-trucks during a winter storm raise some important questions. While people may be tempted to blame the weather, that’s not always the full story. The real issue is whether all the drivers on the road — especially the truck drivers — adjusted their driving to match the conditions.
Professional truck drivers are trained to handle adverse weather, and federal regulations require them to slow down or even stop driving when conditions become too dangerous. If a trucking company pressured its drivers to keep going despite unsafe road conditions, that could be a serious issue. Similarly, if a driver was going too fast for the icy roads, following too closely, or not paying attention, then the weather alone isn’t to blame.
Another key factor is whether these crashes were independent events or part of a chain reaction. In pile-ups like this, it’s common for one initial crash to set off a domino effect. Investigators should be looking at things like dashcam footage, black box data and road conditions at the time of the crash to determine how it all started.
At this point, we don’t know exactly what went wrong, but we do know that simply blaming the storm isn’t enough. If some of these wrecks were preventable with better decision-making, that’s something investigators need to uncover. Otherwise, the real causes of this crash may go unnoticed.
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