Area accidents claim three

A three-vehicle collision near Optima, Okla., left a minivan in shambles. The wreck occured Monday afternoon. The driver of the Ford Windstar was Diego Batholome. He pulled in front of a semi and grain truck. No one injured in the crash. Photo Submitted by Steve Armbruster. Photo by Connie Whiteley

The Liberal Fire Department and Liberal Police Department assist one of the cars involved in a double-car crash on North Kansas Avenue on Monday before noon. No one was injured in the crash. Photo by Connie Whiteley

Truck driver Joel Johnson examines the damage to his truck transporting vehicles after being involved in a crash on U.S. Highway 54 near Optima, Okla. The semi was struck by a minivan and rolled to the side of the road. Photo by Erin Atchley

Rash of crashes keep police busy

A string of car accidents occurred in recent days involving area residents resulting in three fatalities.

A single-car accident Saturday involved a 1998 Dodge pickup truck traveling eastbound on County Road 240 in Haskell County outside Sublette. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol accident report, Shaun Michael Bauer, 17, of Satanta, lost control of the pickup at 8:45 p.m. The pickup traveled north into a ditch and rolled ejecting all three passengers. The accident was fatal for Bauer died at the scene. Allison M. Kinsley, 13, of Sublette, and Alyssa M. Tatro, 13, of Liberal, were injured. The two were taken to the Southwest Medical Center in Liberal. None of those involved in the accident were wearing seat belts.

Another fatal accident occurred Monday morning over 100 miles south of Liberal near Borger, Texas. Passenger Clayton Taylor, 20, of Hugoton, died as a pickup lost control on County Road 1319 in Hutchinson County, Texas, according to Deputy Kirk Koker of the county Sheriff's Office. Kirk said that the driver lost control of the vehicle, crossing into the left lane and rolled several times. The pickup collided with an embankment and fence.

Koker said that the accident is still under investigation. The sheriff's office has yet to determine what caused the accident and an exact time of the accident. Passenger Sara Beth Pikard, 19, of Longmont, Colo., who was involved in the accident has expressed the crash occurred in middle of the night.

Koker said that he was unsure if they had been there all night or just a few hours.

The driver of the pickup, Seth Searcy, 22, of Canyon, Texas, and Pikard were airlifted to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, according to media reports. None of the three passengers were wearing their seat belts.

Koker offered advice for when losing control of a vehicle.

"Well, mainly slow down," said Koker. "Just ease off the gas and ease (the vehicle back) on without hitting the brakes."

Koker said that people panic when they start lose control of their vehicle and hit the brakes, often causing accident.

A two-vehicle crash occurred at 2 p.m. Sunday in Texas County on U.S. Highway 64. Pat J. (Worthington) Hoskins, 77, lost her life as a result of the accident, according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol Personal Injury Collison report from Texas County.

The vehicle Pat Hoskins was traveling in, was headed westbound on U.S. Highway 64, preparing to make a left turn. The driver of the vehicle, William Hoskins, 91, passed another vehicle on the side of U.S. Highway 64, which distracted Hoskins causing the vehicle to collide and crash into a 2007 Toyota headed eastbound on U.S. Highway 64.

William Hoskins was also injured in the accident and transported to Morton County Hospital in Elkhart. Pat Hoskins was transported to the same hospital and later died. Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. Both were from Texhoma, Okla.

The driver of Toyota, Jennifer Tuttle, 46, was taken to Texas County Memorial Hospital in Guymon. She was treated and released. The two other passengers were not injured. Seat belts were worn by all victims.
A Liberal two-vehicle crash occurred at 11:55 a.m. Monday on North Kansas Avenue. A Ford CTS, driven by a male, 23, was crossing North Kansas Ave when it was struck by 2005 Chrysler Touring driven by a 77 year-old man, according to a Liberal Police Department press release. No one was injured.

Another three-vehicle crash occurred about 1:45 p.m. on north U.S. Highway 54 near Optima, Okla., Monday. No one was injured.

Beth Armbruster of Olathe, Kan., witnessed the accident involving a Ford Windstar, semi transporting vehicles and a grain truck.

“I saw this black smoke and the trailer (semi-truck) was rolling,” said Armbruster. “I thought the man was going to be seriously injured.”

For the full story, see Wednesday's edition of The Southwest Times.

© 2008 Southwest Times