Two Wrecks Claim Three Lives
By Doug Carder
Three people have died in two separate accidents that occurred on the same stretch of road just minutes apart at dusk Thursday in the southwest corner of Miami County.
A 2005 Cadillac with two women was southbound on U.S. Highway 169 when it slid on the icy roadway, went down an embankment and crashed into a pond about 5:30 p.m., according to a Miami County Sheriff’s Office report.
A female passenger from Greeley was able to break open the submerged vehicle’s sunroof and swim to the bank, but the driver, Mary J. Crawford, 53, of Garnett, was trapped in the vehicle and died at the scene.
The passenger told first responders she heard the second accident occur while she was swimming to the bank. In that accident, a 2006 Chevrolet Impala was southbound on U.S. 169 when it crossed the center line and struck a northbound 2000 Buick LeSabre head-on, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.
An Anderson County woman driving the Impala and her passengers — an adult daughter, an 8-year-old granddaughter and a 1-year-old grandson who was ejected from the vehcile — were transported from the scene to Kansas City area hospitals. The 1-year-old infant, Hudson R. Dunn of Parker, died shortly after 9 p.m. Friday at a Kansas City metro hospital, according to officials.
The driver of the LeSabre, Mary C. Stussey, 66, a Wisconsin resident, died at the scene, according to the report. Her sister, an Illinois resident who was a passenger in the vehicle, was transported to a Kansas City area hospital.
The investigation continued into the early-morning hours Friday and a five-mile section of the highway remained shut down.
Local agencies assisting with the investigation included the Johnson County and Franklin County Sheriff’s offices, the Overland Park Police Department, Miami County EMS and the Osawatomie Fire Department.
Plans call for that two-lane stretch of U.S. 169 from Osawatomie to Garnett to be widened to four lanes. Some residents along the highway have already been contacted for rights-of-way.
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Posted by admin
on Mar 2 2011. Filed under News and Updates.
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