Man, 70, Killed When Dump Truck Hit His RV Parked on I-135 Shoulder in Saline County, Kansas

Michael David Shreiber, 70, of Lake Elsinore, California, had stopped his motorhome on the right shoulder of I-135 south of Smolan Road to use the restroom when a Mack dump truck travelling on the shoulder struck it, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. He died at the scene; his passenger and the truck's two occupants were not injured.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk22 October 20263 min readRead in all 3 languages

A 70-year-old California man was killed on Monday morning when a dump truck travelling on the shoulder of Interstate 135 in Saline County, Kansas, struck the motorhome he had pulled over in so he could use the restroom, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported.

Source: CDLLife (Kansas Highway Patrol)

The patrol said a 2026 Mack truck driven by Eric Dalton Shrick, 34, of Valley Falls, was southbound on I-135 just south of Smolan Road shortly before 9:30 a.m. when the truck travelled onto the right shoulder and hit the parked 2006 Freightliner motorhome. Michael David Shreiber, 70, of Lake Elsinore, California, was inside using the restroom and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Source: Hays Post (Kansas Highway Patrol)

Shreiber's body was transported to Ryan's Mortuary. The woman travelling with him in the motorhome, identified by the patrol as Colleen Mary Schreiber, 70, also of Lake Elsinore, was not injured. Shrick and his passenger were also not hurt. After the impact, Shrick tried to regain control of the truck, which came to rest in the median, CDLLife reported.

It was not clear whether Shrick had been cited in connection with the crash, and the Highway Patrol had released no further information. No allegation of impairment has been reported, and the investigation's findings have not been published.

What the patrol has and has not said

The patrol's account is that the dump truck travelled on the right shoulder and struck a motorhome that was stopped there. Whether the truck driver was cited, and why the truck was on the shoulder, had not been announced — those questions remain with the Kansas Highway Patrol investigation.

For truck drivers — including the many Punjabi long-haul drivers who run I-135 and the other plains interstates — the crash is a stark reminder of the danger at the edge of the highway: a stopped vehicle on the shoulder sits directly in the path of any truck or car that drifts out of its lane, and a routine rest stop can become fatal in seconds. Safety guidance for drivers who must stop is to leave the travel lanes as far as possible, use hazard lights, and, where an exit or rest area is near, reach it rather than stopping on the shoulder.

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