Traffic violations apparently continue around a construction site northeast of Emporia, despite a fatal accident on July 9 that claimed the life of 20-year-old Emporian Rachel Hall.
Hall was driving on Road 175 when the driver of a cement truck failed to yield the right-of-way at a stop sign at Roads U and 175, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol report.
The driver of the cement truck, Donald Petitt, 33, of Ozawkie, received minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.
Lyon County Sheriff Gary Eichorn said that a highway patrol chart team is doing an in-depth investigation of the fatality to determine speeds and other characteristics of the accident.
The construction site for an energy peaking plant, located between Roads S and U on Road 200, has been a hub for trucks bringing in construction supplies and equipment since work on the plant began earlier this year. Complaints had been, and continue to be, received by the Lyon County Sheriff’s office about vehicles running stop signs in the area.
Eichorn said that his deputies, responding to complaints from the public, went to the area to talk with construction vehicle drivers about the alleged violations.
“They stopped trucks and warned them they’d better be obeying the rules,” Eichorn said. “The one call I personally got was the intersection at 200 and U down on the gravel road a couple of miles north. ... We sent people out.”
Penny’s Concrete, which is providing concrete for the project, also has cautioned its employees about safety, according to a company spokesman.
“We’ve always cautioned them,” he said. “Safety has been an ongoing thing every day — always do the right thing. This particular job, we’ve even drawn maps ... so everyone knows locations of stop signs.”
Since the accident, Eichorn said, more calls about violations have come into the sheriff’s department, and deputies again have gone to the area to monitor traffic.
“We had someone sit out there for an hour and a half,” Eichorn said. No violations were observed until after the deputy left.
“The guy called — ‘As soon as your officer left, the next four people ran the stop sign,’” Eichorn said.
Construction workers are not the only drivers violating traffic laws.
“The one I personally know of ... was a guy that lives in that area,” Eichorn said.
At least one resident in the area has worried about increased traffic and its resulting dust since before the project began.
“It’s not just the cars and pickup trucks, it’s also the cement trucks and semis hauling in equipment,” said Vanda Hall. “All day, the traffic’s like that.”
Caravans of trucks stir dust high into the air, obscuring the roadway and visibility for oncoming traffic and for those cars and trucks following behind. Westar Energy, which is building the peaking plant, hired a contractor to come to the area to cover portions of the roads with a dust-settling solvent.
“We applied magnesium chloride on Road U and Road 200 approximately 500 feet in front of each house,” said Karla Olsen, Westar’s director of corporate communications. “... Because we do not have the expertise to apply this form of dust control, we hired a contractor who specializes in this salt treatment.”
The application was intended to reduce dust for the seven residences along the roads, and the magnesium chloride was not applied to the entire lengths of the roads.
“The county has applied another form of dust control on Road S, asphalt millings, also just in front of each house,” Olsen said. “Most of the trucks use Road S.”
Hall remains concerned about the dust that continues to fly in the untreated areas, and the number of vehicles still disregarding traffic laws.
“My concern has been I want everybody to get home safely,” Hall said. “That’s all I have ever asked. Just pay attention ... and it doesn’t happen.”
madpoet (anonymous) says...
It's a shame that people are putting safety last instead of first. I guess it was too much to hope that the fatal accident would cause the drivers to slow down and pay attention. What a sad waste of a life when Ms. Hall's passing didn't even make others safer at that intersection. During the interstate work the construction trucks just flew down Road 170, way over the 45 limit and damaged the road. Unfortunately, this seems to be the way construction-type companies operate; time is money and the heck with any other considerations.
July 20, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
slipandslide (anonymous) says...
when is lyon county going to learn to deal with the traffic at construction sites before the construction begins? they are merely responding to the problem as the complaints come in, like trying to control the extra dust. can the residents in the area write down tag numbers of the workers who violate the traffic laws in that area? Its a shame a young person was killed in the area and there is the potential for another accident.
July 20, 2007 at 4:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Doug (anonymous) says...
The county could put up a portable camara at 175 and U and every time a Pennys truck runs the stop sign WHAM! one thousand dollar fine.
July 20, 2007 at 5:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
logical (anonymous) says...
Deputies need to start ticketing semi's on road S. They are driving over 70 miles per hour and with the dust and gravel it is very dangerous!! It is only a matter of time until the next accident! Road S is used by a lot of semi's and cement trucks even though Road U is the one being paved!
July 20, 2007 at 5:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
midnight_rider (anonymous) says...
In watching the truck traffic in the area there is actually more semi-truck traffic and other vehicles on Road U than Road S becasue of the direct exit from Interstate 35.
July 20, 2007 at 9:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
johnsie (anonymous) says...
With the deputies sitting out in plain sight in marked cars, yes! the violators are stopping. Dah!
July 20, 2007 at 9:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
pizza (anonymous) says...
Wow, Eichorn's guy sat there a whole hour and a half. Now there is a real commitment to the problem. Folks should remember his lack of commitment to public safety in the next election. What does it take in this community to find someone who really takes their job seriously and wants to do it the best that they can?
July 20, 2007 at 10:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jamiehouk (anonymous) says...
The Lyon County Sheriffs Dept needs to also consider that there are kids that live on those roads and that starting next month there are going to be school buses driving on those roads and there needs to be a stop to the traffic violations. I like the idea of cameras to catch every driver that does commit a traffic crime I don’t care if it is a citizen or a semi driver. If the officers can’t do there jobs then they don't need to be in law enforcement.
July 21, 2007 at 6:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Watching (anonymous) says...
Let me just say that after following and being passed by the the gravel trucks and cement trucks after the accident the took the life of a young mother of three they have slowed considerably. As for the employes of the Weststar plant, it is all you can do to keep them from passing you on road "S" at over 50 mph. You have to almost drive in the middle of the road to get them to slow down before breaking your windshield out ! As for the loss of our young mother, it was pretty bad that a Penny's driver ran a stop sigh across a major highway and took her life but to have A Penny's driver drive through the funeral procession as we take her to her place of rest is Despicable !!
July 21, 2007 at 8:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
leewatson (anonymous) says...
2nd paragraph,of article Fri. July 30th......... driver failed to yield right of way at a STOP SIGN.................NO.......................
driver failed to STOP at a STOP SIGN
July 23, 2007 at 1:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
midnight_rider (anonymous) says...
FACT- He did not STOP for the stop sign. He did not stop until he had flipped her vehicle over into the ditch and then he landed on his side -- flat on top of her -- with his truck completely off of the road. If he had tried to stop before the stop sign he would not have left all of those skid marks on the old highway.
July 23, 2007 at 6:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biggest_small_townKS (anonymous) says...
Fact: He did not stop, he did not even make an attempt as there was neary a skid mark in the gravel or on the hwy. He did not have any INTENTION on stopping at that stop sign that time or any other of the times that day he had run through it. Difference is.... this time he didn't see someone coming and chose to take a precious young mothers' life. A wonderful mother to 3 very young children that will grow up without their mother. So very unfair to them. How lucky that his children have their father to grow up with.
July 25, 2007 at 2:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
brent (anonymous) says...
My name is Brent Price. I am an Investigator with the law firm Shuttlesworth and Moore. My firm works for the family of Rachel Hall. If you are willing, then please contact me so we can discuss any information you may have about this tragedy that could help Rachel’s family.
1-866-323-1411
www.shuttlesworthmoore.net
July 31, 2007 at 12:26 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
Just when you thought the forums couldn't get any worse, now we have sleazy lawyers on here trying to make some money off the tragedy. That's horrible!
July 31, 2007 at 1:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
biggest_small_townKS (anonymous) says...
Lifer, have you also spent your lifetime here under a rock? Do you think the parties responsible for this senseless tragedy, one that has stripped 3 babies of their wonderful mother and families of their daughter, are going to do the right thing and step up on their own???
Wake UP PLEASE! Unfortunately, lawyers will be necessary here to defend the rights and interests of all those whom have been wronged and last time I checked....none of us work for free, so yes, they will have to earn a fee for their effort. But hopefully, God willing, this will also mean that this sort of tragedy won't be happening to you, your children or their children anytime in the near future. Maybe not all lawyers are the kind that are here in the biggest small town in Kansas...... and maybe one day you need one to defend your rights. Don't begrudge anyone else their defense.
August 6, 2007 at 10:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
biggest - um no I haven't been under a rock (nice attempt at an insult - there's no real point in trying to be rude on here), but I am sick and tired of our sue-happy society. I'm not saying that this wasn't a tragedy and that someone wasn't at fault - I just don't think a forum is really a place to advertise. We have so many ambulance-chasing lawyers today and lawyers that take on ridiculous lawsuits (McDonald's too hot coffee, etc.) that they have backed up a judicial system that should be focusing on serious crimes like child sex predators, murderers, etc.
Do you people really think the driver feels no remorse for what occurred? For the mistake he/she made? How would you feel in that situation? Don't get me wrong - I feel great sympathy for the young lady that lost her life and the loved ones she left behind, but it was a mistake - human error - I'm sure we've all made mistakes before that could have had really bad consequences. I just think it is sad when society gets to a point where humans can't make an honest mistake and not pay dearly for it. No amount of money is going to bring a person back. It's just sad.
August 8, 2007 at 4:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
emporialifer (anonymous) says...
snake,
There is no need for name calling on here. I'm not going to stoop to that level and retaliate. I would go back and point out that my "honest mistake" line did not directly refer to this incident. That was a general statement about society.
Well maybe if those lawyers sue hard enough, then yet another business that provides Emporians jobs will go bye bye. I'm just curious - why go after Pennys instead of the driver who made the mistake?
August 9, 2007 at 8:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
siamesefred (anonymous) says...
Let's not be naive. Attorneys always go for the deepest pockets. The company will have more insurance and assets than the driver.
Also, when we're talking about lawsuits, let's recognize that individuals don't always have a choice. I know a couple whose son was in an accident with a relative. The parents' health insurance paid for his treatment, then turned around and sued the relatives' insurance to recover money.
Of course, the suit isn't worded Prudential versus Blue Cross. It's always done in the policyholders' names so it's John and Mary Smith versus Bud and Bonnie Smith... making it look as if the parents are so greedy that they sue their relatives to make a buck. In this case, the "Smiths" found out there was fine print in their policy giving the insurance company the right to bring suit in their name. They had no choice. And the courts call these "friendly" suits.
August 9, 2007 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )