Kansas father killed, wife and small children injured in tractor-trailer accident

A Kansas father was killed and his wife and their young children were injured after their vehicle was struck by a tractor-trailer in Pottawatomie County on Wednesday evening.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Randy Tinkel, 37, of Wamego was driving a truck when he was killed in the three-vehicle crash. Jillian Tinkel, 36, and two boys, ages 2 and 7, were also in the truck. They were taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries. Facebook and a fundraiser show that they are a family.

A 34-year-old St. Mary’s woman who was struck by the tractor-trailer was also taken to hospital with suspected serious injuries.

The accident was reported around 5:33 p.m. It occurred when the St. Mary’s woman, driving an SUV, was stopped and waiting to turn, the KHP reported. Randy Tinkel came to a stop behind the woman when both vehicles were struck by a tractor-trailer driven by a 44-year-old Lecompton man. He wasn’t hurt. The KHP crash log did not say why the driver did not stop. A call to KHP was not immediately returned.

The SUV driven by the woman came to a stop on one side of the road and the truck driven by Tinkel ended up on its roof on the other side, the KHP accident report states. Tinkel’s Facebook page shows that he owns a business that drives semi-trucks.

A GoFundMe for the family has raised over $9,500 to “help with anything they need.”