GOVE COUNTY, Kan. — Two people died in crashes along the procession route for a Colorado Pearl Harbor survivor on Saturday, including a Patriot Guard member who was riding a motorcycle as part of the escort, officials said.
Lennie Riedel, 65, lost control of his motorcycle on Interstate 70 near Grainfield, Kan., and was struck by a van behind him, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. Riedel was a Patriot Guard member who joined the procession for Donald Stratton in Goodland, Kan., about 80 miles west of where the crash happened, Gove County Sheriff Allan Weber said.
Stratton, a Colorado Springs resident who was among the last living survivors of Pearl Harbor , died last week and was being escorted from Colorado Springs to Red Cloud, Neb. The procession arrived in Nebraska later Saturday.
Riedel died at the scene of the crash. Several minutes later, as first responders diverted traffic from the scene, an eastbound driver on I-70 struck a parked fire truck. The driver, Carl Silvrants, 81, of Virginia, died at the scene, according to the highway patrol.
