Article updated at 4:40 p.m. Monday, July 5:
An Olathe man and a dog were killed in a crash on U.S. 56 Highway near the Douglas-Johnson County line early Monday, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Monday afternoon.
“Initial reports stated a semi-truck and van had collided, and both drivers were pinned inside of their respective vehicles,” according to the release.
David Hosch, 39, of Olathe, was driving the van near the intersection of East 2400 Road and U.S. 56 Highway around 8 a.m. Monday. Hosch was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release; the dog in his vehicle did not survive the crash, either.
The semi driver, Reinold Hartmann, 66, of Missouri, was flown to a hospital with injuries that were serious but not life-threatening, according to the release.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts, according to the release, and there were no other occupants in either vehicle.
“The crash is being investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Accident Investigation Team. The roadway will remain closed while the semi-truck is being removed, and we will advise when it reopens,” the release stated at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
The Baldwin City Police Department and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash, according to the release.
Update, 5:33 p.m. Monday, July 5:
Hosch was a wheelchair user who had lost his left leg. That was the result of a crash when he was 6 years old — he was riding his bike when he was run over by a delivery truck. Doctors had to amputate his leg as a result, he told the KU News Service in January 2020.
He was a kayaker, and KU Engineering students had built Hosch an adaptation to a trailer that allowed him to load and unload his kayak on his own.
“It allows me to do something I’ve wanted to do, but haven’t — under normal circumstances — been able to do. It means the world to me, honestly,” he told the KU News Service. “The team of kids I worked with, they were fantastic. I hope they earned an ‘A.'”
Hosch owned Sunflower Animal Transport, a pet taxi service.
“As far as I’m concerned, every animal I transport becomes MY animal,” he wrote on the business’s website.
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