Police investigate accident
By Bobbi Mlynar (Contact)
Originally published 01:00 p.m., March 24, 2008
Updated 01:00 p.m., March 24, 2008
The driver of a vehicle that crashed into the rear end of another vehicle early Sunday morning is hospitalized and in custody of the Emporia Police Department. Another person, in the second vehicle, also was taken to Newman Regional Health for treatment, according to records of the Emporia-Lyon County ambulance service.
The names of the injured were not available this morning.
The accident was reported at 2:15 a.m. at East Sixth Avenue and Exchange Street, response records showed. Three patients were examined by emergency medical personnel at the scene; one of them was not taken to the hospital.
Emporia Police Chief Gary Smith said that the driver of the first vehicle, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, was the subject of a chase after he reportedly had caused a problem at a local bar. The caller who reported the incident provided a description of the man’s vehicle, which was observed as it passed by two police officers who were working another traffic stop.
“One of the officers that was at the traffic stop saw him on (Highway) 50,” Smith said.
That officer got into his patrol car and followed the suspect vehicle, switching on the patrol car’s flashing lights to try to get the man to pull over. When he did not stop, Smith said, the officer turned on the vehicle’s siren and again the driver did not respond. When it became apparent that the suspect was heading toward the downtown area, officers discontinued the chase.
“When they realized he wasn’t going to stop, they pulled back and tried to keep him under observation,” Smith said.
A reconstruction of the accident is being done to determine details.
“From what I was told, it was a pretty rough accident,” Smith said. “We won’t know the speeds until the accident is reconstructed.”
A utility pole was knocked to the ground as a result of the collision.
The incident was one of several this weekend that involved EPD officers.
Emporia police were called to the scene of a fatal shooting on East Logan Avenue Friday evening. That incident is under investigation by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office. Shortly before Sunday morning’s chase, police had been called to a local motel for a report of a man with a gun, Smith said. That situation was resolved peacefully, though information is not yet available.
“I think our folks probably earned their keep over the weekend,” he said.
Comments
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Posted by bybarra (anonymous) on March 25, 2008 at 9 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The reference about "another person, in the second vehicle" being taken to a local hospital was my brother! He must have had his guardian angels watching over him that day!
I commend the officers for pulling back, as I could only imagine a higher speed by the suspect otherwise......Although I live in Phoenix Arizona, I can't help but wonder what role the bar played in all of this....past 2 a.m. in the morning, problems at the bar, when did they realize this suspect had had enough to drink and cut him off? Or did they even bother?
Someone, like my brother or his friend, could have been innocently killed.
Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on March 25, 2008 at 10:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
In our culture, we are very quick to focus the blame upon the police rather than the true culprit. Although policemen are not perfect, overall they do an excellent job under very trying conditions. For example, we expect the police to decide weighty constitutional questions in a matter of seconds, questions so profound that it takes lawyers and judges years to sort out in the litigation that follows. I hope that the police will not be blamed for this event. What more could they have done?
Posted by american (anonymous) on March 25, 2008 at 10:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The only question I would like answered is why did the police from the State, County and City engage the suspect in a insainly high speed chase through the middle of emporia after they already had his license plate number, and for something as petty as stealing a purse and 2 G strings... Not trying to "focus the blame upon the police" but come on guys you could have waited an hour or two went to the guys house and knocked on his door and not risked peoples lives...
Posted by create (anonymous) on March 26, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And after an hour or two, I'm sure the stolen goods would still be in his possession.
Posted by slipandslide (anonymous) on March 26, 2008 at 9:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
they should never chase someone through town, wait till they kill an innocent person it isnt worth it.
Posted by american (anonymous) on March 26, 2008 at 10:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"And after an hour or two, I'm sure the stolen goods would still be in his possession."
Seeing that the guy ran from the cops at such a high rate of speed for stealing them in the first place I would almost bet he would have it in his possession. Not to mention dumb enough to steal them in the first place.
Posted by emporian (anonymous) on March 26, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If they dont chase someone through town even if they know they are intoxicated and that person hits somebody them people would be back on hear complaining cause the police did nothing. Its lose lose for the cops.
Posted by Bjnemp (anonymous) on March 26, 2008 at 10:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Right on, emporian. Some people love to trash the only barrier between them and a lawless jungle. Some people will be outraged if a cop shoots a bank robber. They will call the police murderers and thugs. But if the cops don't shoot the bank robber, and he gets away, the same people will whine and scream because the inept police let the criminal get away with their life savings. Nex time someone is trying to break into your house in the middle of the night, call a liberal pacifist. That will keep the police free to protect me and my family.
Posted by emporialifer (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Emporian & Bjnemp - you are right on the money. You just can't win with some people or make them happy.
bybarra - I'm sorry that your brother was involved, but if someone over the age of 21 (and considered an adult) is drinking - shouldn't it be that individual's responsibility to know how much he/she should have? Granted, I realize that someone under the influence will probably not have the best decision making ability, but anyone should know that going into the situation and act accordingly (or at least a responsible citizen would). Nothing irritates me more than people wanting to blame others rather than put the blame on the person who actually made the decisions. People must be held accountable for their own actions, and not allowed to pass the blame to someone else.
Posted by create (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Right on Emporian and Bjnemp, especially your comment about calling a liberal pacifist, Bj.
As for my own comment on his still having the goods in his possession, I was thinking of those videos on TV showing car chases where stuff is always being tossed from the vehicle being chased as if they are trying to get rid of evidence. My own camera bag was found in a ditch on a county road, sans two cameras of course, but the bag was returned to me by a savvy deputy who saw it in the ditch and found my card inside.
As far as adult drinking goes, a bartender can and should "86" a person who has had too much to drink. Of course that then begs the question -- will that person be driving?
Posted by Pollyanna (anonymous) on March 27, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Create: You bring up a good comment and one that may spark some controversy on whether a bartender is responsible for a businesses' drinkers. I bartended in college and took that responsibility very seriously. One problem I ran into was I would mix drinks for all the restaurant's servers and I wasn't able to watch who had over done it or not. Making a bartender responsible for that is wrong. It was also really hard to guage how alcohol affected people differently. I could have someone sitting at the bar acting perfectly normal and the third drink would make them stumble. Who knew what kinds of meds they are/were on or what their tolerance level is/was. I also ran into a situation which a pregnant woman sat at a table and while lighting a cig in one hand was sipping a margarita in the other. Unknowingly I served her through her server and felt immediately sick to my stomach. She even ordered another drink, and without confronting her, I'm sure she noticed her second margarita tasted peculiarly more like sweet and sour than anything else....... hmmm....
I would also run into situations in which my recommendation about "86ing" someone would conflict with a managers decision. That puts a bartender in an awkward position as well. Ultimately each and every person should be responsible for themselves even though I know that's a far stretch to hope or wish for in many life situations!
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