McPherson man in critical condition after collision
STAR-JOURNAL STAFF
A McPherson man was in serious condition Wednesday evening after colliding with a semi on U.S.-56 just west of Hillsboro.
The 911 dispatcher in Lyon County received a cellular phone call at 12:38 p.m Wednesday reporting that a light blue pickup truck heading east on U.S.-56 had swerved over the center line into the oncoming traffic lane. and struck a semi that was heading east. Christopher Conrad was the driver of the small truck.
The accident occured just west of the northbound K-15 intersection of U.S.-56.
An earlier 911 call had reported that the pickup was driving erratically on the highway, said Marion County Sheriff Lee Becker.
Hillsboro fire, police, and EMS officials responded to the scene, joining sheriff's personnel, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and Marion EMS crews. County dispatchers also received several 911 calls from area residents reporting the accident.
Undersheriff David Brazil is handling the case.
The semi, which was carrying wet sand mix for cement, tried to avoid the truck but couldn't get out of the way. The truck struck the left front side of the semi and also hit two of the trailer's wheels. The collision was not head-on, Becker said.
The impact on the pickup completely crushed the front of the truck and caused the driver to be partially ejected from his seat. There were no other passengers in the truck.
At 12:45 p.m., area officials called for the Life Star helicopter, from Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, to report to the scene. Life Star arrived shortly after 1:15 p.m. and departed for Wesley with the victim at 2 p.m.
As of Wednesday evening, the driver was listed in critical condition at Wesley.
The exact cause of the driver's erratic driving is unknown, Becker said.
However, the driver was a Type I diabetic, so a medical condition may have caused him to drive across the center line of the highway. But at this point, no cause has been ruled out completely, Becker said.
The driver of the semi wasn't hurt; he was checked out by EMS personnel at the scene and released.
Westbound traffic on U.S.-56 was closed until 2:45. Personnel from the Kansas Department of Transportation were on hand during that time to direct traffic, Becker said.
