KHP involved in fatal SUV crash in northwest Kansas

SHERIDAN COUNTY – The Kansas Highway Patrol has identified the people involved in a second fatal crash that occurred Monday in Sheridan County.

According to the Highway Patrol, Trooper Ethan Masterson, 27, of Oakley, was en route to a fatal crash on KS-23 south of Hoxie shortly after 11 a.m. when Masterson's Dodge SUV collided with another SUV at the intersection of 100 S Road and 40 E Road, about four miles east of K-23.

The driver of the second SUV, Gerald D. Rahier, 42, Hoxie, was killed in the accident.

A passenger, Arielle C. Lemos, 38, of Hoxie, and two children, ages 4 and 5, all suffered serious injuries and were transported to the Sheridan County Health Complex in Hoxie.

All four people in the SUV were properly secured at the time of the accident.

The Highway Patrol reported that Masterson had his lights and sirens on at the time of the crash. He was not injured.

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SHERIDAN COUNTY – Police are investigating a fatal crash involving a Kansas Highway Patrol officer.

Shortly after 11 a.m. Monday, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper responded to the scene of a fatal two-vehicle crash involving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). The crash occurred on K-23 between Hoxie and Interstate 70 in Sheridan County, according to a KHP news release.

The officer was traveling westbound on 100 South Road with his lights and siren on as he approached the intersection at 40 East Road.

The officer entered the intersection and struck the driver's side of a southbound SUV. The male driver was killed in the collision. A female passenger in the front seat and a one-year-old passenger were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A three-year-old passenger was taken from the scene by helicopter. The officer was treated and released from the scene.

The Kansas Highway Patrol Critical Highway Accident Response Team was called to the scene and the accident remains under investigation.