LeLOUP — A 9-year-old boy and a 28-year-old woman of Kansas City, Mo., are dead following a two-car crash northeast of Ottawa Tuesday night. North-bound I-35 was shut down for six hours. April Brown, 28, was driving south on I-35 when her car crossed the median at about the LeLoup interchange and entered the north-bound lanes, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. Her car was hit broadside by a car driven by Courtney Houston, 28, Wellsville, the highway patrol said. Witnesses said Brown’s car was cut in half by the crash. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, said Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Richards. Because of the severity of the crash and because it happened on I-35, the crash investigation was turned over to state troopers, and deputies helped re-route traffic, he said. The highway patrol identified the two who were killed as Brown and her passenger, Jeremiah “J.J.” Persinger, 9. A third passenger in Brown’s car, James Whitfield, 46, Kansas City, Mo., received what the highway patrol described as disabling injuries and was taken by Franklin County ambulance to Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Houston was taken to KU Medical Center in Kansas City, Ks. All were wearing seatbelts except Brown, the highway patrol said. Both lanes of i-35 were reopened to normal traffic shortly after 1 this morning.
Wednesday, May 4, 10:30 a.m.
