A wintry mix of freezing drizzle topped with light snow coated roads and highways Monday night and Tuesday morning and proved fatal for a Burden man.
Jay Williams, 93, suffered a serious head injury when he lost control of the 2003 Ford Ranger he was driving about 5 p.m. and ran off 112th Street into a ditch, then struck a driveway embankment. He was transported to William Newton Hospital by ambulance.
He died this morning after being transferred to a Wichita hospital, Sheriff Don Read said.
The weather also prompted the closing of area schools and a number of other cancellations.
Prospective jurors in the Justin Thurber capital murder case reported Tuesday morning – some from the Burden and Cambridge area. Those ordered to report Tuesday afternoon were being called to emphasize they still need to report.
Despite the treacherous conditions, only one of three accidents investigated Tuesday night by the Cowley County Sheriff’s Office involved an injury, Read said.
Amber K. Young, 33, Oxford, and two passengers in the Dodge Durango she was driving, escaped injury about 9 p.m. when she lost control on icy 21st Road. The vehicle slid into a ditch and turned on its side.
About the same time, Laura Booth, 19, Wichita, slid across the 4000 block of K-15 and landed partially in a ditch.
People were a little more cautious when driving Monday, Read said. There was plenty of warning to expect a gradual change in the weather and people are becoming a little more accustomed to driving on slick roads now that we’re half way through winter, he said.
The wind chill in Winfield was still near three degrees late this morning. The weather advisory was expected to expire at noon and warmer temperatures are forecast for Wednesday.
The accident involving Williams was just west of the intersection marked on the map below.
