MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (KSNW) — Two people are dead following a crash on U.S. Highway 281 in Barber County. It happened shortly after 10 a.m. north of Medicine Lodge.
The Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) says it began with the pursuit of a stolen 2008 Ford F-350 pickup by Pratt Police.
The Pratt County Sheriff’s Office took over the pursuit as the driver fled south on Highway 281 toward Barber County.
As the driver of the stolen truck, later identified in the KHP Crash Log as Johnathan Ahlvers, 31, of Halstead, approached mile marker 34, troopers say he intentionally drove at and crashed into another Ford F-350 pickup.
The driver of that pickup, 70-year-old Terrill Underwood of Medicine Lodge, tried to avoid Ahlvers’ vehicle by driving toward the east ditch but was hit by Ahlvers.
Underwood was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Ahlvers was transported to the hospital in Medicine Lodge, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. The highway was closed for hours while the crash was under investigation but has since reopened.
