OLATHE, KANSAS — A 25-year-old California truck driver died Wednesday morning after drifting off the right shoulder of northbound Interstate 35 near 119th Street in Olathe, overcorrecting, overturning, and slamming into a median wall — with the crash closing the highway for nearly eight hours as cooking oil from the trailer leaked across the roadway.
Kansas Highway Patrol troopers responded around 2:30 a.m. The driver, Jatin Kumar of Santa Clara, California, suffered serious injuries in the crash. He was later confirmed dead at approximately 10:30 a.m. His family has been notified.
The extended closure was caused by cooking oil leaking from the overturned trailer onto the highway. Crews worked to assess and contain the spill before the tractor-trailer could be safely removed. Two northbound lanes reopened as cleanup and recovery operations continued.
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