'Mental episode' and texting while driving causes crash on I-70 in Shawnee County

SHAWNEE COUNTY (KSNT) - The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) said a multi-vehicle crash on I-70 over the weekend was caused by more than one contributing factors.

In a KHP crash log, law enforcement details what led up to the crash which occurred around 3:40 p.m. on Sunday, July 7 on eastbound I-70 near mile marker 187.7. A Ford F-150 was traveling east on the highway when the driver stopped due to a "mental episode."

Another driver, in a Volkswagen Taos, was received a text and checked his phone. He struck the Ford, bouncing off it and hitting a third vehicle, a Chevrolet Silverado.

The KHP list only the 40-year-old Lawrence woman driving the Ford as being hospitalized in the aftermath of the crash. The 25-year-old Larned man driving the Volkswagen was listed as having minor injuries but was not hospitalized. The 19-year-old Cawker City man driving the Silverado was not injured.

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