Wrecks in fog lead to road closing for hours

Early morning fog led to a series of wrecks after a semi collided with another overturned semi and blocked K-47 Friday.

The accidents at the intersection of K-47 and Lyon Road caused one semi to spill a load of grain that had to be cleaned up before the highway could reopen before 4 pm, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. Within a few minutes of the initial accident, three other vehicles also collided with wreckage at the scene, but only one person was reported to have sustained injuries.

A 2017 Freightliner was eastbound on K-47 when it went off the roadway, overcorrected and landed on its passenger side at 6:05 am Friday.

The driver, Roberto Delgado, 43, Dallas, was not injured, but an occupant in the sleeper cab, Hilario Herrera, 52, Grand Prairie, Texas, was transported to Labette Health with suspected minor injuries.

After the first semi overturned, Bryan Dixon of Chanute saw the accident and stopped the 2016 Chevrolet Equinox he was driving westbound. Dixon made a U-turn and parked facing east while he went to check on the driver.

An eastbound 1988 Freightliner loaded with soybean meal then struck the wrecked semi, which knocked the tractor into Dixon’s parked Chevrolet. The collision caused the second trailer to rupture and spill, but neither Dixon nor the second semi driver, Brian Glasgow, Yates Center, were injured. A westbound 2018 Ford F150, driven by Neal Smith, Altamont, also struck the overturned semi.