I-435 wreck kills car passenger

A 54-year-old man died early Sunday after another vehicle hydroplaned on the interstate during heavy rains and struck the car in which he was riding, Kansas City police said.

Police said James Garrett, believed to be from Kansas City, was riding in the back seat of a northbound car on Interstate 435 near 23rd Street when another vehicle struck some standing water and spun. The car hit Garrett’s car, forcing it into the path of a semi-tractor trailer.

Police shut I-435’s northbound lanes from 3 a.m. to about 4:30 a.m. to investigate the wreck. Garrett’s condition initially was believed to be stable, but his condition deteriorated at the hospital and he died unexpectedly, police said.

The Kansas City Star

www.kansascity.com

Monday, June 20, 2011 1:33 p.m.