RENO COUNTY – Two men from Hutchinson died just after 9 a.m. on Friday in a police chase and crash in Reno County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Wendell Lue Hicks III, 27, by Hutchinson, was westbound on U.S. 50 fleeing law enforcement.
The driver swerved, lost control of the Pontiac and hit an eastbound semi head-on.
Hicks III and a passenger Lee Francis Billinger, 48, Hutchinson, were pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center.
The semi driver Russell W. Craven, 55, Sterling, was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center.
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RENO COUNTY- Two people died after a police chase and crash on Friday morning in Reno County.
Just before 9 a.m. three individuals went into the Newton Walmart and attempted to pay for about $1,100 worth of merchandise with fraudulent credit cards, according to a media release
They left the store with two carts of unpaid merchandise and abandoned one cart when a store employee approached them.
The three suspects got in two different vehicles and left.
A Newton Police officer located one of the vehicles traveling west on U.S. 50.
The officer checked the tag on the vehicle, and it had been reported stolen. When the officer attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver chose not to pull over.
The driver attempted to flee and sped up to about 115-mph. The traffic on U.S. 50 was light. The pursuit went into Reno County, where an officer from another jurisdiction had deployed stop sticks.
The driver of the suspect vehicle swerved around the stop sticks and lost control, and slid sideways into the front of a semi that had stopped for the roadblock. Both the driver and passenger (both suspects in the theft) died on the scene. The Kansas Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
Identity of the victims has not been released.
U.S. 50 remains closed between Buhler- Haven Rd and Kent Road. Buhler- Haven Road is also closed from G Avenue to Illinois.
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RENO COUNTY- First responders are on the scene of a fatal accident following a high-speed chase with law enforcement in Reno County.
The accident on U.S. 50 and Kent Road east of Hutchinson, according to the Reno County Sheriff’s Department.
Check Hays Post for additional details as they become available.