ELLIS COUNTY—One person died in an accident just before 4p.m. Sunday in Ellis County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported three pedestrians were loading a disabled vehicle onto a trailer pulled by a 1996 Ford F250 on the north shoulder of Interstate 70 near the 183 Bypass. The pickup was legally parked and towing a 2014 Eagle trailer which was hauling a 2009 Chevy Tahoe. One pedestrian was attempting to strap down the vehicle on the side of the trailer closest to the roadway.
A westbound 2026 Freightliner semi driven by Alejandro Fuentes-Castro, 53, Wilmington, Deleware, failed to maintain his lane, and struck the pedestrian who was located on the roadway side of the vehicle.
Julio Caesar Villarreal, 37, WaKeeney, was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Klines Mortuary. Two other pedestrians identified as Randall L Hilgers, 42, WaKeeney and Juan A. Mejia, 53, San Diego, California, were not injured. An 11-year-old in the 1996 Ford pulling the trailer was not injured. Both the Ford pickup and Chevy Tahoe sustained damage.
Fuentes-Castro was not injured and properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.