BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — Records show that a tractor-trailer driver who caused a multi-vehicle crash that killed five people in eastern Kansas was fined three years ago in Missouri for operating a commercial vehicle without proper brakes.
Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Dan Smith says the agency is preparing a report for prosecutors, who will determine whether to file charges. The fiery Tuesday pileup temporarily closed a stretch of Interstate 70 near Bonner Springs on the western edge of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
The crash happened when the driver crested a slight hill and failed to slow in time for stalled traffic. The man’s rig rammed a sport utility vehicle and then two cars before crashing into a stopped tractor-trailer, which then rear-ended a pickup truck.