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Hutchinson man dies after crash with semi attempting U-turn

SOUTH HUTCHINSON, Kan. — One person died in an accident just after 2 a.m. Friday in Reno County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Buick Century driven by Melvin G. Uphoff, 72, Hutchinson, was traveling southwest on Kansas 61, six miles west of South Hutchinson.

The vehicle struck a 2014 International Prostar, driven by Jose Cota-Espinoza, 46, Mexicali, Mexico, that became stuck when the driver missed an exit and attempted to make a U-turn and blocked both lanes of the highway.

Uphoff was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to the Sedgwick County Forensics Center. Cota-Espinoza was not injured. Neither drivers was wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

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