An Ark City man is recovering in a Wichita hospital Wednesday after the vehicle he was driving collided with a Newkirk, Okla. School bus Tuesday afternoon.
Clifford Barney, 42, was taken by air ambulance to Wesley Medical Center after the accident, which occurred at the intersection of Kildare Rd. and Pecan Rd. in Kay County. He was listed in fair condition this morning, according to a hospital spokesperson.
A passenger in Barney’s car, Hilda Slaight, 55, Ark City, was admitted to a Ponca City hospital in stable condition, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The driver of the school bus, Stephen Smith, 72, Newkirk, refused treatment at the scene. Sixteen school-aged children were on the bus and some were taken to a local emergency room for evaluation. All children taken to the hospital were eventually treated and released.
The accident happened around 3:35 p.m as Barney was headed south on Pecan Rd. in a 1980 Chevy pickup. He failed to yield at a stop sign, according to a highway patrol report, and was struck by the bus, which was west bound on Kildare Rd.
Barney and Slaight were trapped in their vehicle for about 30 minutes before being freed by the Newkirk Fire Dept.
