A former Emporia resident was one of two road workers killed in an accident Tuesday south of Lawrence.
Tyrone “TY” Thomas Korte, 30, of Seneca, was killed by a hit-and-run driver while at a repaving job on U.S. Highway 59 at milepost 147 near Pleasant Grove.
Korte was an engineering technician who graduated from Emporia State University in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and had worked for KDOT since 2002.
The pickup truck that hit Korte also killed a contractor’s employee at the site, Rolland Griffith, 24, of El Dorado. Griffith worked for Dustrol, a Towanda company. One other person at the site, Amanda Hopper of El Dorado, was injured, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
The accident happened just before 10 a.m. At 10:12 a.m., according to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a state trooper saw the pickup truck thought to have been involved in the accident.
The trooper tried to pull the truck over as it headed west on U.S. 56, but he ended up chasing it instead for about 10 miles. The chase ended after about 10 minutes when the truck ran over stop sticks that had been placed in the road by deputies from the Osage County Sheriff’s Department. The truck blew out two tires and stopped two miles later.
Two women were taken into custody in the incident. The truck was occupied by driver Ramona I. Morgan, 48, and passenger Sabrina Morgan, 26, both of Chewelah, Wash. Neither reported any injuries, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
“All of us at KDOT are deeply saddened by this tragic loss,” said Jerry Younger, the state transportation engineer and assistant secretary of transportation, in a release. “Our deepest sympathy is extended to Tyrone’s family and friends during this difficult time. Our thoughts are also with the contractor’s family as well.”
This was the first fatal accident involving KDOT workers since Aug. 1, 2005, when Emporia resident Richard Cunningham was killed while getting ready to change a sign on Kansas Highway 130. According to the Highway Patrol, Cunningham and his co-worker, Gary Burroughs of Emporia, had just stepped out of their truck when a tractor-trailer slammed into the vehicle, pinning the men underneath. Burroughs suffered severe injuries but lived.
The driver in that accident, Leonard Marks of Manhattan, was acquitted of vehicular homicide and battery by a jury in Lyon County District Court this year. Marks was found guilty of speeding and failing to yield the right-of-way to a construction vehicle.
According to KDOT, 13 of its employees have been killed in work zone crashes over the last 25 years.
Bigearl2 (anonymous) says...
My prayers are with their family ! I drive on highway 50 and it is very dangerous with the truck drivers...Please remeber if u are sleepy , pull over and rest !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 13, 2007 at 12:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )