Ark City Police investigators suspect alcohol may have been involved in a high-speed crash early this morning that claimed the life of one man and left another hospitalized in critical condition.
“That’s one of the things were trying to determine,” police chief Dan Ward said. “There are a number of questions to be answered.”
It will likely be Monday before either man is identified by name publicly, he said.
Just after midnight Sunday, an officer on routine patrol clocked a car entering Ark City northbound on Summit going around 90 miles per hour. The driver appeared to lose control on or near railroad tracks in the 1000 block of S. Summit.
The car traveled another block hitting a mailbox and multiple utility poles. It struck a final pole and came to rest at Jackson and S. Summit.
One man was killed and another was hospitalized. That person is currently under intensive care in critical condition at a Wichita hospital.
Police are continuing to work to notify next of kin. There was no current registration for the vehicle and it had been sold twice recently.
“We need to know where they’re from and who the car belonged to,” Ward said. “And we’ll make notifications.”
Both occupants of the vehicle were adults, he said.
