Teenager attempting to render aid died in three-vehicle crash in Merriam

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The Kansas Highway Patrol reports a 17-year-old was killed in a three-vehicle crash on southbound I-35 north of Johnson Drive in Merriam, Kansas.

According to KHP, the accident occurred when a Jeep Liberty, driven by Joselin M. Laynez Flores, 21, of Guatemala, struck another car, a Chevrolet Equinox, driven by Paula Baird, 25, of KCK, which was stranded in another accident.

Before the crash occurred, a third vehicle, a Honda CRV driven by Ammar Aljishi, 17, of Spring Hill, Kansas, pulled onto the shoulder of the road. A passenger in the CRV, Benjamin Van Buskirk, 17, of Olathe, got out and attempted to render aid on foot.

Van Buskirk sped toward Baird’s Equinox while it was still moving because a rear-end collision struck and killed him.

Baird is also said to have suffered serious injuries in the accident and was taken to the KU Medical Center. Flores is said to have been uninjured.