A 21-year-old Coffeyville woman, Ashley Dawn Rolls, died early Sunday in a two-vehicle accident on Highway 75 between New Strawn and Beto Junction. The accident happened about 12:10 a.m. Sunday. Three others were taken for treatment to the Coffey County Hospital in Burlington, and one later was transferred to Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka.
According to a report from the Kansas Highway Patrol, a 1998 Pontiac driven by Lindsay Ann Shaw, 23, of Manhattan was southbound on U.S. Highway 75 when a 2001 Ford pickup truck headed east on County Road 22 failed to yield the right-of-way and struck the Shaw vehicle on the passenger side.
Rolls, a passenger in the car, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Shaw was taken to Coffey County Hospital and later transferred to Stormont-Vail, according to the KHP report.
“The crash caused the Pontiac to be cut in two, actually breaking Rolls’ seat belt and causing her ejection,” said KHP Trooper Jeff Norling, who worked the accident.
The driver of the truck, Eldon W. Riley, 50, of Garnett, and his passenger, Teresa L. Gretencord, 46, of Gardner, were taken to Coffey County Hospital for treatment, and Riley later was arrested by Coffey County sheriff’s officers.
“The evidence and a witness to the crash both show that Riley failed to stop at the stop sign, and he hit the passenger side of the car,” Norling said.
All four people involved were wearing seat bealts, Norling said.
This morning, Riley remained in the Coffey County Jail on $75,000 bond, pending charges of driving under the influence of an intoxicant, involuntary manslaughter, and aggravated battery, according to a jail records.
wildcat (anonymous) says...
May God bless and all involved in this accident and grant them his mercy. We don't understand the plan that he has for us all, but hopefully we can learn from this tragedy.
January 3, 2007 at 12:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
droll53 (anonymous) says...
This was a senseless tragedy because someone put their desire to drink and then drive over their safety, their passenger's safety and the safety of everyone who was unfortunate enough to be on the rode that night. To somehow explain it away as part of "God's plan" is to totally obsolve the driver of any responsibility for what happened.
Is this fair to the girl that died, the girl that is still in the hospital or to their families? I think not!!
January 4, 2007 at 4:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jmb232 (anonymous) says...
It's a shame but this happens all to frequently on our roads.
DUI needs to be procecuted more virorously and persons found to have been drinking then driving need to serve long sentences and have their driving privledges revoked.
Unfourtunately we have shrugged this off as a society to think you have to drink or use drugs to be "cool" and have a good time. While we just go on burrying the victims, some of them the offenders themselves.
How many more families this year have to needlessly suffer
so a few irresponsible individuals can have a good time?
January 4, 2007 at 4:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kyce25 (anonymous) says...
thank you! to everyone for there kind words and prayers. ashley dawn rolls was my friend iv known her for bout 4 years....she was a very sweet a kind person who loved tha color pink..cats and her fiance kelly! and he loved her...she had too lil brothers alot of loving famliy...and more friends than she will ever kno!we miss her alot....we were pink in her memory! if you are reading this you should were pink too....or pick up a stay cat and love it in her memory...we dont want our friend to die in vien! and to tha famliy of eldon riley,me ,my self holds no gruge or no anger for your family member ashley would not want that...she was a very forgiving person i kno this first hand! she has already for gave him!! and so have i........ tha law says he will get in trouble for breaking it!!!! but dont think tha will bring her back! cuz it wont!but he should jus live tha rest of his life makin sure others dont make his same mistake in life! to take another life,i dont think he woke up that morning on intending this would happen...i undersatnd that but i am one af few that does....i have god and so does eldon! jus plz dont let my friend die in vien...DONT DRINK AND DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!!! DONT LET YOUR FRIENDS DRINK AND DRIVE! LET GOD BE WITH YOU ELDON AND YOUR FAMILY!
January 16, 2007 at 3:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
droll53 (anonymous) says...
Kyce25, you are a kind and forgiving person. Ashley was luckly to have a friend like you. In theory what you say may be correct. Ashley may have wanted Eldon forgiven, I don't know. And you are correct Eldon did not get up that morning intending to kill someone. He has grown children of his own and I am sure he is tortured everyday by what happened. But facts are facts - he got drunk and drove. When you get behind the wheel of a car in that condition that takes the "accident" element out of it. He chose to drive drunk and that was no accident. You are right, no amount of punishment will bring Ashley back. But if society takes that view and continues to hand down light sentences for crimes like this the situation will not get any better. He is related to me and I am sorry he is going through this. I feel worse for Ashley's family, future husband and friends however.
January 17, 2007 at 12:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
droll53 (anonymous) says...
Does anyone have any information on the condition of the passenger in Ashley's car, Lindsay Shaw?
January 17, 2007 at 12:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kyce25 (anonymous) says...
ash is not tha only good friend i have lost to this type of accident.and i do say accident because of whut i have learned frm losing 11 friends to dinking and driving...i have came to my own conclusion,that it was an accident becuse if ashley would have been at work that day she wouldnt have been in that car or on that hwy..and nothing in this world tells me he meant to kill our friend..im not takin up for him ..but in my faith in god tells me not to be mad anger gets you no where..forgivness lets you move on...i have gotten to that point.and yes eldon will be punisehed i hope to tha max..but that also means he will have plenty of time on his hands to spread tha word that drinking and driving is no game..his life should be detecated to hers...and makin sure she didnt die in vien..he can help other ppl see whut can happen if they do as he did..i guess im jus a forgiving person...i dont kno your famliy member..but im sure your family, his kids are damaged by this too..i think of both sides cause there is two sides many familys were involved in this...and no one should be forgotten.i cant help tha way i think..and trust me when i lost my best friend on easter sunday 2001...it took many years and more of my friends passing for me to be this forgiving.and i thank my family and my friends and god for letin me move on.and plz keep ashes family in your prayers......and i will yours! and yes lindsay is ok...she was released frm tha hospital in time for ashleys service.and ash was tha passenger in lindsays car.
January 24, 2007 at 1:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
scooter5 (anonymous) says...
Ashley was one of the greatest people that I have ever known. She was my best friend and my Little Gift From God. We always had such a great time together and the memories that I have with her will never be far from my thoughts. My name is Lindsay Shaw and I was the driver of the vehicle with Ashley. That day was such a great day. The last moments with Ashley were happy moments. I remember looking over at her and laughing and she had that beautiful heart warming smile on her face and the next thing I know i'm being talked to by unfamiliar voices and being pulled straight out of my seat on a stretcher. I kept asking about Ashley but no one would tell me anything. They just told me that other people were helping her and they didn't know on her condition. The hours after that accident were a blur of painful and confusing memories. It didn't seem like I had just been in a car wreck because I never saw the accident happen, never had a chance to react or avoid the wreck. Half way through the first day in the hospital my dad finally came into my room with tears in his eyes and told me the worst news that a parent could ever tell their child, " Lindsay, Ashley didn't make it." I didn't want to believe him. There was no way that my best friend had just been taken from this world like that. I have since the accident recovered from my injuries sustained from the car wreck, so people might say that I am doing ok. But in all actuality I am not doing okay. I have never lost a close family member, let alone my closest friend. I cry every night for her, and I visit her grave regularly. I live in constant denial of what has happened, and wake up every morning hoping that it was just a really bad dream and Ashley is still alive, but the nightmare has yet to go away. I want so badly for Eldon Riley to suffer for what he did, but I know that repaying evil with evil will get me nowhere and I know that Ashley would not want me to have such hatred towards another human being. I just hope that justice is served and that the passenger in his vehicle serves time as well because it is just as much her fault as it is his. She knew he was drunk, she knew that he should not have been behind the wheel, but she let him drive and because of that decision Ashley was taken from this world. Ashley will never be completely gone to me, she will always live inside of me and she owns the biggest piece of my heart and no one will ever take that place from her. I thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this tough time.
February 5, 2007 at 12:14 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )