The Barton County Sheriff’s Office had a busy holiday weekend due to bad weather and poor road conditions in central Kansas, Sheriff Brian Bellendir said Monday. Deputies responded an injury accident and several non- injury accidents. There were also 15 to 20 reports of vehicles that simply slid off the roadway.
The injury accident occurred at 2:47 p.m. Sunday, east of Ellinwood on U.S. 56.
Officers reported a 1995 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck driven by Teresa D. Berends, 36, of Hutchinson, was struck by ice falling from a passing vehicle. A piece of ice detached from a vehicle passing in the opposite direction and struck the pickup in the windshield.
“The ice sheet penetrated the windshield and a 16 year old passenger was injured by glass and ice,” Bellendir said. “The passenger was transported to Ellinwood District Hospital and treated for facial injuries. The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by Ellinwood EMS and the Ellinwood Police Department.”