RICHTER — A 44-year-old Ottawa man was killed in a crash on K-68 and Georgia Road at Richter Wednesday morning. Troy Lewis was driving west on K-68 when his Jeep drifted into the east-bound lane and hit a pickup driven by Dan Willford, 42, Pomona; nearly head-on shortly after 6:30 a.m., Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Richards said. Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene. Willford was taken by a Franklin County ambulance to Overland Park Regional Hospital. Barricades were put up to detour traffic away from the accident scene and K-68 was closed at Richter for several hours as investigators worked the scene. Although the Kansas Highway Patrol is the lead investigator for the accident, an accident reconstruction team of Ottawa police officers and Franklin County deputies worked the accident scene, he said. The highway was reopened late in the morning. The wreck renewed the debate about the safety of K-68 west of Ottawa. There has been discussion for years about the condition of the highway, including a lack of shoulders and sharp drop-offs, he said. “It’s hard to avoid a crash because you have nowhere to go,” Richards said.
Wednesday, April 16, 7 a.m.; updated, 9:30 a.m.; updated 10:45 a.m.; updated 1 p.m.; updated Thursday, April 17, 2 p.m.
