At 6:50 this morning, traffic was shut down for two hours along I-435 near Bannister Road after a fatal collision.
A black Buick Encore was traveling southbound on I-435. Just north of Bannister Road, for unknown reasons, the Buick traveled across all lanes of traffic from the west side of the highway to the east side of the highway. The Buick then struck the center concrete median barrier. The driver and sole occupant of the Buick exited the vehicle and attempted to run across the highway. The driver of the Buick was struck by a blue Kenworth T880 cement truck that was traveling southbound on I-435. The driver of the Buick was pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim in this crash was identified as Samantha Wanstreet w/f 12/23/91. The driver of the Kenworth was uninjured.
This is fatality #80 compared to #74 at this time last year and the investigation is ongoing.