Tall corn blamed in fatal collision

ATWOOD, Kan. — Tall corn blocked visibility near the intersection of county roads northwest of Atwood where a Trenton man died Saturday afternoon in a collision of his pickup and a semi-truck.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reports that 50-year-old Derrick Bassnett died at the Rawlins County Health Center in Atwood. The driver of the truck, 29-year-old Joshua Joe Friemel of Colby, Kan., was also transported to the Atwood hospital, but had no apparent injuries.

The KHP report indicates that at 12:12 p.m., Bassnett was eastbound on County Road AA and entering the intersection with County Road 6. Because of the tall corn, he was unable to see the northbound semi-truck which then struck the passenger side of Bassnett's 2012 Ford pickup. Friemel's truck was a 2009 International, pulling a water tanker trailer.

Both Bassnett and Friemel were wearing seat belts.

The accident happened in rural Rawlins County, 14.5 miles west and 9 miles north of Atwood.