KANSAS CITY, Kan. — One person is dead and two others were hurt in two separate crashes along eastbound Interstate 70 Wednesday morning. 

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the first crash happened around 5 a.m. along eastbound I-70 just before I-635. One person died in a two-vehicle crash after one of the cars caught fire. A person in the other vehicle was taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

The patrol then responded to a second three-vehicle crash behind the fatal crash on eastbound I-70. One person from this crash was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

According to Lt. David Hundley, a semi-truck also caught fire six miles behind the fatal crash on I-70 in an unrelated incident.

The deadly crash temporarily closed eastbound lanes I-70 at 57th Street, causing some traffic to back up. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, all lanes of traffic on the interstate had been reopened.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.