3 seriously hurt
in US-50 crash
Staff writer
A tow truck and a four-door sedan collided a quarter of a mile from Mustang Rd. on US-50 at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, injuring three people and briefly causing closure of US-50.
Kansas Highway Patrol determined that one car crossed the center line and hit the other. Troopers did not know which car was at fault at the time.
The driver and occupants of the sedan, including Lakisha Reed, Tiffany Mayson, and Rakesh Davis, all of Wichita, sustained significant injuries and were transported to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. The tow truck driver, Joel Hayes of Florence, was uninjured.
Two helicopters as well as an ambulance were dispatched to treat victims. Helicopters were delayed by high winds and eventually canceled in favor of surface transportation. Gusts were reaching 30 mph at the time.
Troopers were unsure whether wind influenced the accident.
“Wind is a factor for motorists, but we’re unsure if it was a contributing factor,” trooper Ben Gardner said.
Vehicles were backed up to Peabody while US-50 was closed. Drivers of semi-trailer trucks who were closest to the accident left their vehicles to give emergency responders accounts of what happened.