Two drivers were injured early Saturday morning when a pair of highway transports collided on the east edge of Iola.
The wreck also limited access to the U.S. 169 overpass crossing U.S. 54 for most of the day until crews could clear debris from the road.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a northbound truck driven by Delmer Lee Burton Jr., 41, Tulsa, Okla., crossed the center line and collided with a southbound truck driven by William F. Spencer, 58, Claremore, Okla.
The impact from the 4:55 a.m. collision sent Burton’s semi off the road and into a cornfield west of the highway. Spencer’s truck was pushed against the overpass guardrail.
Burton was pulling a flatbed trailer loaded with crushed cars. Spencer was driving a FedEx truck pulling a pair of trailers. Both FedEx trailers sustained extensive damage.
Spencer was lifeflighted from the scene to the University of Kansas Medical Center. Burton was transported via ambulance to Allen County Hospital.
Crews were on the scene for more than 12 hours clearing the wreckage from the scene. Traffic was closed entirely to the overpass until Spencer’s truck was removed; it then was limited to one lane while Burton’s truck was removed from the cornfield.
Drivers injured in truck wreck
