About $20,000 in damages was done Thursday afternoon to a Cowley County Sheriff’s Office patrol car when it was struck on U.S. 77, Sheriff Bob Odell said today.
Deputy Mike Kennedy parked his car in a northbound lane on U.S. 77 Thursday afternoon to redirect traffic from the scene of a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of U.S. 77 and 222nd Road. While Dep. Kennedy was attending to the drivers, a 2002 Chevy S-10 pickup slammed into the back of the empty patrol car, crushing the back half of the vehicle.
About $6,000 in law enforcement equipment was destroyed. The driver, Michael W. Weekley of Arkansas City, was taken by ambulance to an Ark City hospital for “observation”, said Sheriff Bob Odell.
“Mike (Kennedy) wasn’t in the car” at the time of the wreck, said Odell. “He had all his emergency lights on.”
Odell said guns, strip spikes and other equipment was in the trunk of the Crown Victoria. The sheriff expects to spend $14,000-$20,000 to replace the patrol car.
Elzie D. Thresher of Arkansas City and David L. Thomas of Winfield were the drivers involved in the original accident, which occurred shortly before 5 p.m. A wreck report indicates Thresher’s 1983 Ford pickup crossed U.S. 77 from 222nd Road when Thomas’ 1998 Nissan pickup was traveling north on U.S. 77 at 70 mph. The two vehicles collided in the intersection and Thomas’ pickup spun onto the highway’s right shoulder. Neither driver was injured, according to the report. Both vehicles were badly damaged. A stop sign and two sign posts were also damaged in the accident, according to the report.
Kennedy’s vehicle was struck about 45 minutes after his arrival on the scene, according to a wreck report.