Four people who died in a traffic crash on a Kansas highway were related — an Aurora couple and two of their grandchildren.
A 9-year-old boy, also a grandchild, survived the crash and is expected to live, said Technical Trooper Ben Gardner, a Kansas Highway Patrol spokesman.
were Kevin J. Dorrell, 54; Debra M. Dorrell, 51; Justin Turner, 15; and Joe Turner 11, all of Aurora.
The Dorrells are the legal guardians of the children, Gardner said.
The family was traveling from Aurora to Mississippi about 9:30 Tuesday morning when their Cadillac Escalade hit a disabled semi-trailer truck that had stopped along Interstate 70 about 8 miles north of Ellsworth, Kan.
The truck driver was not injured.
Jonah Turner was pulled from the wreckage by passers-by and taken to the Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.
“The people who helped get him out of the vehicle are having a difficult time,” Gardner said. “They did make a difference in this 9-year-old’s life, there’s no doubt in my mind.”
An investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing. Police said the truck driver had set up hazard warning markers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
