Tribute, no charges after 2 German cyclists die in Kan. crash

GALENA, Kan. (AP) — No criminal charges will be filed against the driver who struck and killed two German cyclists on May 8, in Kansas while they rode on the historic Route 66 during a cross-country trip.

A Ghost Bike was placed on Route 66 in tribute to the riders who died-photo courtesy Members of the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association

Cherokee County Attorney Jacob Conard wrote in a letter released Monday that there’s no evidence the 23-year-old driver from Shawnee, Kansas, was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or operating her minivan in a “reckless or dangerous manner” before she struck the two from behind in May.

Seventy-four-year-old Harry Jung and 71-year-old Heinz Gerd Buchel died at the scene, just north of the Oklahoma state line.

But Conrad noted that the burden of proof is lower in civil proceedings, and urged the Kansas Highway Patrol to retain reports in case the families sue.