Woman Killed in Northeastern Kansas Crash
ST. MARYS, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a Belvue woman has been killed in the head-on crash of a pickup truck and sport utility vehicle on U.S. Highway 24 just west of St. Marys in northeastern Kansas. The Capital-Journal reports that the crash happened around 7:25 a.m. Friday when a 19-year-old St. Marys man driving a pickup went west in the eastbound lane of the highway, hitting an SUV driven by 54-year-old Kathleen Cummings. Cummings was pronounced dead at the scene. The 19-year-old driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. The crash remains under investigation.
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Topeka Police Investigate Gas Leak Find Dead Woman
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Police say officials investigating reports of a gas leak in a central Topeka home found a woman dead inside the home. The Capital-Journal reports that police and firefighters were called to the home just after 8 p.m. Friday and forced their way inside, where they found an unresponsive woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Medics took another person found in the house to a hospital in serious condition. The names of the victims have not been released. Police say in a news release that officers discovered "suspicious circumstances" at the scene, which led them to secure the property. No other details had been released by early Saturday afternoon.
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Anti-abortion Groups Split Over 'Personhood Amendment'
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents pushing for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion in Kansas are meeting resistance from other anti-abortion groups. Two legislative committees have recommended that lawmakers consider the issue during the 2020 legislative session. The recommendations come as lawmakers try to determine how to respond to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that the state's constitution guarantees a right to abortion. Kansas News Service reports that at a hearing Wednesday, some advocates pushed for a "personhood amendment" that would ban all abortions in Kansas. But some of the state's largest anti-abortion groups say the personhood amendment is not practical. Anti-abortion legislators have generally deferred to Kansans for Life on abortion policy issues for more than two decades. That group argues that an incremental approach builds public support for greater restrictions.
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Second Wichita Man Sentenced for Bystander's Death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The second of two Wichita men charged in the death of an innocent bystander during a shootout has been sentenced to prison. District Attorney Marc Bennet said Friday that 24-year-old KeAndre Summers was sentenced to nearly 15 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder and aggravated assault. In June 2017, Erick Vazquez of Wichita was found dead from three gunshot wounds in his bullet-riddled pickup in Wichita. Prosecutors say before the shooting, 20-year old Jeremy Levy and KeAndre Summers began shooting at each other in a strip mall parking lot. Vazquez was waiting nearby in the truck while his friend was buying cigarettes. Levy was sentenced to life in prison in August 2018 after he was found guilty of first-degree felony murder.
