Car fire, two crashes slow traffic Wednesday morning on Kansas Turnpike east of Topeka

LECOMPTON, Kan. (WIBW) - A car fire and two crashes that authorities said may have been weather-related slowed traffic early Wednesday on Interstate 70 along the Kansas Turnpike in western Douglas County, authorities said.

The car fire was reported around 6:06 a.m. on westbound I-70, about two miles west of the Lecompton exit.

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Sean Swords said he drove up on the car fire before the incident had been called in to dispatchers.

Swords said the man driving the car that caught fire was able to pull the vehicle over to the right shoulder before it became engulfed in flames.

Swords said the car was a total loss.

The center and right lanes were affected by the car fire, and the Kansas Turnpike Authority was urging motorists to approach the area with caution.

Traffic was restricted but was allowed to proceed through the area.

Around the same time, Swords said, a couple of other crashes occurred nearby on I-70.

Swords said those crashes may have been related to ice on bridges.

Emergency responders were called to the scene of the crashes but there was no immediate word on whether anyone required ambulance transportation to the hospital.

Additional information wasn’t immediately available.

Check wibw.com for more details as they become available.