Two Dead after Vehicle, Train Collide in Miami County
SPRING HILL, Kan. (AP) — Two people are dead after their vehicle was struck by a freight train in a rural area south of the Kansas City area. The crash happened around 6 p.m. Thursday in Miami County. Police at the scene said the vehicle and part of the train erupted in fire after the impact. The Miami County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that the collision happened after the driver went around the rail crossing’s arms and got stuck on the tracks. The release said the victims are believed to be an elderly couple from Spring Hill. Their names weren’t immediately released. No one on the train was injured.
===============
Trailer Accident Near KC Kills 4 Horses, Blocks I-70
GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a trailer loaded with horses caught fire Friday on a stretch of Interstate 70 near Kansas City, killing at least four animals. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a tweet that the fire happened just west of Grain Valley. It temporarily blocked traffic along the interstate. No information was immediately released about what caused the fire.
===============
Donors Raise More than $1 Million for Exonerated Man Freed after 43 Years
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — More than $1 million has been raised for a man who spent 43 years behind bars before a judge overturned his conviction in a triple killing. The GoFundMe fundraiser to benefit Kevin Strickland had raised $1.1 million by Friday afternoon, and donations kept coming. The Midwest Innocence Project set up the online fundraiser as they fought for his release, noting that he wouldn’t receive compensation from Missouri and needed help paying for basic living expenses. The state only allows wrongful imprisonment payments to people exonerated through DNA evidence, so the 62-year-old Strickland doesn’t qualify.
===============
Wichita Police Suspect Speed, Alcohol Figured in Fatal Wreck
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say speed and alcohol use are suspected to be factors in a Thanksgiving night accident that killed a man and critically injured a woman. KSNW-TV reports that the accident happened around 8 p.m. Thursday at 13th Street and Hillside. Lt. Chris Marceau says a pickup truck struck an SUV from behind at a stoplight, causing the SUV to roll over. A 65-year-old man died and a 67-year-old passenger is hospitalized in critical condition. The 37-year-old driver of the pickup truck was taken into custody. Police say the investigation is ongoing.
===============
Kansas Supreme Court Takes Up Day Care Death Case
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has agreed to consider an appeals court decision overturning the conviction of a day care worker in the death of a 9-month-old. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office is seeking to have the murder conviction against Carrody Buchhorn reinstated. The office appealed after the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in August that she should get a new trial because her attorney did not adequately question a coroner’s ruling on how 9-month-old Oliver “Ollie” Ortiz died. He was found unresponsive at the Sunshine Kids Group Daycare Home in Eudora.
===============
Retired Kansas Lawmaker, Black Aviation Leader, Dies at 98
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Ulysses Lee “Rip” Gooch, who was a leader in the Black aviation industry and Kansas’ oldest serving state senator when he retired at the age of 80, has died. A post on Jackson Mortuary’s website says Gooch died on Wednesday. He was 98. No cause of death was listed. The Wichita Eagle reports that he is a member of the Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame, is part of the inaugural class of the Black Aviation Hall of Fame in Memphis, and logged around 20,000 hours of flight time over his more than half-century long aviation career.
