Wichita, Kansas: Man, 79, Killed in Collision With Fire Truck at Lincoln and Greenwich

A 79-year-old man died after his Honda CR-V collided with a Wichita Fire Department engine at the intersection of Greenwich Road and Lincoln Street in southeast Wichita, Kansas, on Tuesday morning, October 27. The fire truck, Engine 20, was answering a medical call with its emergency lights and sirens on when the crash happened, according to Wichita police.

What police say happened

Police told KWCH that Engine 20 was traveling northbound on Greenwich Road, responding to a call about a person having difficulty breathing. As the engine approached Lincoln Street, the black Honda CR-V driven by the 79-year-old man entered the intersection and struck the fire truck. The collision then carried the vehicles into a third vehicle, a black Dodge Ram, police said.

The first reports from the scene described an injury crash on one of the east side crossings Wichita drivers use every morning. In an update later on Tuesday, police said the crash had turned deadly, and they confirmed that the driver of the CR-V had died. Police had not released the man's name in the reports published by Tuesday night.

What is still not known

Police have not announced what caused the CR-V to enter the intersection as the engine passed through it. They have not said whether a traffic signal, speed or a medical issue played any part in the crash. The reports published so far also do not say whether anyone riding in the Dodge Ram or anyone on Engine 20 was hurt, and they do not say whether another crew reached the person who was having difficulty breathing, the call Engine 20 was answering when it crashed.

Those questions now sit with the police investigation. A crash involving an emergency vehicle draws close review, because the engine was moving through a signaled intersection with lights and sirens while other drivers crossed the same junction on their normal morning routes. Greenwich Road and Lincoln Street meet in southeast Wichita, where neighborhood streets feed into wider commuter routes across the east side of the city.

Police have not announced any citation or arrest in the crash, and no cause had been published by late Tuesday. This article will be updated when police release the man's name or announce findings on what caused the collision.