Independence man killed in crash on I-435 Saturday in Leawood

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An 80-year-old Independence, Missouri, man is dead following a crash Saturday afternoon in Johnson County, Kansas.

The crash was reported just after 3:40 p.m. on westbound Interstate 435, just east of Mission Road in Leawood, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP).

KHP said the driver of a 2019 Honda Ridgeline was traveling west on I-435 and for an unknown reason, ran off the road into a ditch.

The driver then struck a crash attenuator or “cushion” barrier and then struck a sign post and went into another ditch, according to KHP.

The driver of the Honda was pronounced dead and has been identified as 80-year-old Samuel Martin Franks, of Independence, Missouri.

Franks was wearing a seatbelt, according to KHP.