Wichita man, 34, dies after cargo van strikes semi-truck trailer along K-96

A 34-year-old Wichita man died Monday morning after the van he was driving struck a semi-truck along K-96 northwest of Wichita.

The Kansas Highway Patrol identified him as Joseph Bailey Clementi.

The accident was reported at 5:55 a.m. along K-96 at 151st Street West, north of Colwich and Maize.

Clementi was heading west on K-96 in a 2000 GMC G1500 cargo van when the van left its lane, entered a median and then struck the trailer of a semi-truck that was at a stop sign facing south, according to a KHP crash log.

The driver of the semi, a 57-year-old woman from Emporia, was not injured.

Social media posts show Clementi was involved with Phlox Kansas, a group of fire-spinning performers who previously did shows in Wichita’s Old Town Square.

“The word is going to to be a little less brighter now that you’re gone,” a person said of Clementi on Facebook. “I’m still at a loss of words.”

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