Two people died and four others were injured in two vehicle accidents late Monday afternoon east of Emporia.
Rachel Hall, 20, of Emporia died in a crash at the intersection of Road 175 and Road U when a cement truck struck her 1997 Ford F150 pickup truck. The accident was reported at 4:32 p.m.
According to a Kansas Highway Patrol report, the cement truck was southbound on Road U when it failed to stop at a stop sign and collided with the passenger side of the Hall vehicle.
The driver of the cement truck, Donald Petitt, 33, of Ozawkie, received minor injuries that did not require hospitalization.
Hall’s body was taken to the Shawnee County Coroner’s office, where an autopsy was to be performed. She was not wearing a seat belt, the KHP report stated.
Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home will be in charge of arrangements.
The second accident was reported at 5:20 p.m. on Interstate 35 at Milepost 147.4 in western Coffey County.
A KHP report stated that northbound vehicles driven by Robert S. Smith, 39, of Louisburg and his wife, Julie L. Smith, 38, also of Louisburg, were parked on the shoulder of the highway when a 1998 Toyota driven by Zachary Famuliner, 22, of Carrollton, Mo., struck the rear of Robert Smith’s 1981 Ford F-100 pickup truck. Robert Smith was putting water in the truck when it was struck by the Famuliner vehicle. The truck apparently was pushed into the 2000 Ford Explorer Julie Smith had been driving.
Neither Julie Smith nor the Smiths’ son, Jeremy Lance Smith, 15, were in their vehicles. Jeremy was walking from the truck to the SUV when the accident occurred, according to the KHP report.
The Smiths were taken to Coffey County Hospital, where Robert Smith died.
Famuliner was taken to Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka. He was not wearing a seat belt, the report stated.
Comments
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Posted by madpoet (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So many accidents caused by inattentive driving! What a waste! My heart goes out to the families. I hope this will be a wake up call to people to pay attention while driving.
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What about seatbelts? In both accidents, it was reported there were people NOT wearing seatbelts. Why would people chance it?
M
Posted by johncanyon (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 12:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why should I have to wear a seatbelt, if I don't want too. Yeah.. Yeah.. I know it's the law. But it's only a money maker for the city and county. Why is it OK for someone to ride a motor cycle down the highway at 70-80 mph, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and flip flops. Why don't the motor cyclists have to wear protective clothing and helmets??
It is a shame that these people lost there lives, but who is to say that wearing a seatbelt would have saved them. I, personnaly have been involved in 2, fairly bad accidents and in one of them, I am sure I would be dead, had I been wearing a seat belt.
Seat belts may save lives, but it should be " my" choice to wear one or not.
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 1:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Here's why you should wear a seatbelt (in a car) and a helmet (on a motorcycle):
So the first responders to the accident (EMTs, firefighters, etc.) can be spared from scraping your brain or chunks of your skull and/or face off of the roadway.
And because you don't JUST live for yourself. You live for those who love you and depend on you. Do it for them, too.
Simple as that.
Melissa
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 1:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh, and as for it being "your choice" you better check with your insurance company--if you are in violation of the law, they don't have to pay.
Your life insurance may not pay out, either.
That's love. You WANT to go without a seatbelt so your relatives can suffer.
Melissa
Posted by daveedailey (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 2:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Good point Melissa. Some people just make dumb choices whether it is a law or not. If people had to watch what comes in emergency rooms at hospitals they might just change their mind for more protection. Emergency rooms are over run in the summer because of people who make stupid mistakes and choices. There are reasons for laws. I agree the motorcycles and bicycles should have helmets. Of the motorcyclists that I am with, all protection is used but that still does not prevent accidents. If people would just remember an accident can happen any time and any where and no matter what, you are not prepared. How sad these people did not head the law, maybe death could have been prevented.
Posted by vankamp (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 2:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Johncanyon: I was also involved in a very serious 4 car accident. There were 6 people in the car I was in and all were wearing seatbelts. THe Highway Patrolman said without the seatbelts at least 2 of us would have died. I'm taking my chances with the belts and I don't ride a motorcycle without a helmet.
Posted by johncanyon (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 2:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Milissa.. You make it sound like you can not be injured if you are wearing a seat belt. I have seen some pretty messy accidents where people "were" wearing there seat belts and there were No survivors and body parts had to be picked up off the ground. I bet there family members didn't feel any better, knowing that they were wearing a seatbelt. And if the first responders are picking up my skull and brain parts, you can bet that at that point, I DON"T CARE!!
I am just saying it should be my choice to wear one, as it is the choice of motor cycle riders to wear a helmet or not. Why is there no Helmet Law? Not enough body parts being splattered around for that yet? Can't the Law Makers see the money potential in enforcing a Helmet Law?
If you guys wanna wear a seat belt, that's fine with me. I don't have anything against that. Power to you. I hope it saves your lives some day. I just don't think I should be forced to wear one If I don't want too
Posted by daveedailey (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 2:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It has been proven that more people have been saved because of seatbelts. You probably think that an air bag is all you need. Believe me, the air bag is a great thing to have, but remember your neck can be fractured by one. Is it a choice to have it removed from your vehicle, just because you might break you neck because of it? I think the seatbelt law is a good thing. Now, I wish they would come up with something to restrain pets and the use of cell phones while driving!
Posted by emporialifer (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 5:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I wear my seltbelt because I really don't feel like dying anytime soon and it's against the law and I don't want a ticket either. I'm not trying to stir things up here, but just wanted to pose this thought to the people who use the "it's my body, it's my choice" argument for abortion - if you are for that with abortion - shouldn't that apply here as well? In that sense the gov't shouldn't be allowed to make a law that dictates how my body will or will not be splattered on the street, right? Just a thought.
Posted by imgone (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 6:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
johncannon.........Be thankfull there is no law against stupidity.
Posted by vankamp (anonymous) on July 11, 2007 at 8:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I knew Rachel and if she could turn back time I know she would have made a different choice and worn that seatbelt. Even though it sounds like the accident was not her fault, she left 3 precious babies without a mother. Rachel made the choice not to wear her seatbelt but so many people are now suffering because of that decision.
Posted by johncanyon (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 11:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So let me see if I got this right. If you wear a seat belt, you are granted "Immortality"? You can not be hurt or killed if you wear one? Well, I got news for you. The seat belt and air bags work just fine at low speeds.10-20-30 mph. But do you really think they are going to save your life in a head on collision at highway speeds? I doubt it. A head on collision at 60 mph with another vehicle doing the same speed, is like hitting a wall at 120 mph. No seatbelt or airbag is gonna save you. Unless you are driving a NASCAR approved vehicle.
So the next time you are out on Hwy 50. Be sure and buckle up because at 65-70 mph you should be safe if one of the 18 wheelers you meet hits you head on.
I'm just sayin'
Posted by daveedailey (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 12:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am thankful there is no law against stupidity, because there sure is a lot of it flying around when it comes to the real world. Too bad we can not have a law to prevent the breeding of stupidity!
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Food for thought, John:
It DID happen to my husband. In 2003. He was driving to work on a two-lane highway, the morning after a snowstorm in Maine. Speeds were approximately 35-50mph. He hit black ice, slammed into the guy in front of him, bounced into oncoming traffic and went head-on with a dump truck.
Guess what? He was wearing his seatbelt and his airbag worked and he walked away (with bruises and two black eyes). Of course, the Jaws of Life had to come and cut him out of his car, he was terrified (because he couldn't remember if his family was with him or not) and his car was totalled.
So, YOU can tell yourself that "no seatbelt or airbag is gonna save you." I know otherwise. So do all the statistics. So do all those who are still alive.
And, furthermore, I don't think one person said anything about seatbelts making you immortal. However, if we have fewer people dying in car accidents due to seatbelt usage vs. LACK of seatbelt usage, that would suggest to me that they work *most* of the time.
M
Posted by daveedailey (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 12:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Melissa, Stupid is as Stupid does.
Posted by LocalGuy (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 5:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Dave/Melissa,
I am waiting to read one of you to reply to emporialifer's comment. Cat got your tongue?
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on July 12, 2007 at 6:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LocalGuy, here's my response to emporialifer:
I don't care if it's a law or not. Common sense should say "hmmmm, if I am driving down the road without a seatbelt and get into an accident, odds are that I will be more seriously injured or killed than if I choose to wear my seatbelt."
Seriously. You needed an answer to that?
And also, if you have children and you don't wear your seatbelt and/or helmet, what kind of example is that setting? That it's okay to be as stupid as people perceive you to be?
M
Posted by LocalGuy (anonymous) on July 13, 2007 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
M,
It's amazing that you didn't say one thing about abortion.
Posted by daveedailey (anonymous) on July 13, 2007 at 9:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Localguy, again it is your choice. This was a discussion on wrecks and seatbelts not abortion. Sorry, I still believe a woman has the right to choose just as you have the right to break the law. After all, some would say laws are meant to be broken. A woman's chances of dieing from an abortion are a lot less than from a car wreck without seatbelts.
Posted by zoahjoe (anonymous) on July 13, 2007 at 10:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Daveedailey - I wonder where abortions rank under your beloved idea of socialist medicine.?
Posted by daveedailey (anonymous) on July 13, 2007 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I do not know. From what I have read so far on this, nothing is mentioned except in a "need" which I have not been able to interrupt. I guess, it can be taken several different ways. Most of my sources are from news reports.
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on July 13, 2007 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
LMAO.
Abortions & seatbelts.
Nice baiting.
M
Posted by daveedailey (anonymous) on July 13, 2007 at 11:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good catch Melissa. Wait until you read about socialistic medicine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111
Posted by sandyestabrook (anonymous) on July 15, 2007 at 8:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I just hope that all of you who think it's smart to not wear your seat belts or helmets also have the smarts to sign your organ donor card so that your stupidity can benefit someone else. Most deaths on motorcycles are from severe head trauma caused by no helmet being worn. You can argue all you want that it's your right to not wear helmets or seat belts but then maybe you want to drive 100 mi an hr again like people did in the 60's when the speed limit was 80 until studies showed that lowering the speed limit saved lives. Unless you are on a road all alone, and can assure that no one else will be involved with your accident then you need to obey the laws. They are to protect everyone. No one is invincible and accidents happen
Posted by johncanyon (anonymous) on July 16, 2007 at 12:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ok.. Millissa and Dave, I am stupid because, I don't believe the govt. should be able to tell me what to do? And if I don't, they should be able to write me a ticket for it? I never said that I do not wear a seat belt. I jsut said that I think It should be my choice, not the governments.
So if I don't agree with the local, state and federal government wanting to control my life then I m "stupid"!!! So DAVE, i guess that makes you "stupid" too!! You, obviously don't agree with the way our city government is run and how they tell you things are gonna be. Hmmm... Stupid is as Stupid does??
Milissa..I am glad your husband walked away, unscaved, from his accident in 2003. It looks like it was at the lower speeds I was talking about.
No one has mentioned how well the air bags and seatbelts work, at the higher speeds of 70+ mph. In a head on collision. All you people seen in my post is that I don't wear a seat belt and I am stupid because I don't think the government should be able to tell me what to do.
Posted by daveedailey (anonymous) on July 16, 2007 at 12:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The government will always make the decisions for you. It is your choice!! After all laws were made to be broken. You should spend time in emergency rooms where the wrecks come in. If you do not know what that means then you have never been involved in a wreck. Seatbelts are a blessing and airbags. However I do know you can break you neck with one! It is your right to break or make a law!
Posted by KristieR (anonymous) on July 16, 2007 at 3:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm perfectly fine with adults not choosing to wear a seatbelt as long as you don't go on government assistance once you are paralyzed and unable to work.
Seatbelts won't save a person from every accident, but it will increase the odds.
I really feel for the families of the young woman and young man who died in this accident. So tragic.
Posted by LocalGuy (anonymous) on July 18, 2007 at 8:45 a.m.
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Posted by Sanford (anonymous) on July 18, 2007 at 10:28 a.m.
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Posted by tunit (anonymous) on July 18, 2007 at 11:34 a.m.
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Posted by Mommy_15 (anonymous) on July 18, 2007 at 1:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am sure the truck driver is feels bad NOW. How many other times has he ran a stop sign and not hit someone? I am guessing this is not a one time thing, like oops I ran a stop sign. It was in the middle of the day, a stop sign does not just sneak up on you, unless you are not paying attention to what you are doing. When you have the responsibility of driving a huge vehicle you should ALWAYS be paying attention to what you are doing! I feel horrible for the family and for the mother in the last seconds of her life who was most likely thinking about her children and what they would do without her. How SAD!!!
Posted by tunit (anonymous) on July 18, 2007 at 3:35 p.m.
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Posted by Mommy_15 (anonymous) on July 18, 2007 at 4:21 p.m.
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Posted by LocalGuy (anonymous) on July 18, 2007 at 5:35 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by glarson (Gwen Larson) on July 19, 2007 at 7:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I chose to remove numerous comments that were related to one original post and had unwittingly turned into a very hurtful attack on Rachel Hall's family.
I understand that no one intended to address the family directly. With the anonymity afforded to users of The Gazette's Web site, it often is impossible to know when one is making comments they would never say out loud in person.
Please remember that, especially with stories like this, it is not unusual for family members of victims to be online and hearing the comments being said. Let's try not to judge either the victim or the person who caused the accident.
The bottom line is -- and I believe all the commenters agree -- this was a terrible tragedy that will be felt by both families for years to come.
Gwen Larson
Managing Editor
Posted by 47hclwym (anonymous) on July 19, 2007 at 10:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Finally someone with a heart and some sense. Shame on you people for using this girls life/death as an excuse to pick at each other and call names.
Posted by biggest_small_townKS (anonymous) on July 25, 2007 at 1:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank You glarson for your compassion in excercising your editorial powers.
For those that want to have the great seat belt debate....more power to you but I really son't feel like this is the appropriate venue. Whether Rachel was or was not wearing her seat belt remains to be determined and furthermore, I don't think when you have been plowed into by a cement truck that eventually rolls your vehicle upside down and lands on top of you and your vehicle, a seat belt is going to do you a darned bit of good. Just my opinion and after seeing the pics and the vehicle, no person restrained in the driver seat of that vehicle could have possibly survived. But that's okay, go on and have your seat belt debate at Rachels expense, such class and compassion for her family that is left without their mother, daughter, companion and friend.
Oh BTW, just so you know, she always carefully belted her children in and invariably DID wear her belt when her kids were in the vehicle with her.
Have fun with your debate.
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