Memorial fund set up for children
A memorial fund has been set up for the children of Shawn and Danielle Schellenger. The Reno County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that the Schellenger Memorial Children’s Fund has been set up at the First National Bank of Hutchinson.
Reno County Jail Deputy Shawn Schellenger and his wife Danielle were riding motorcycles with family members when the freak accident that would claim their lives occurred, Saturday morning in Great Bend.
As the Great Bend Police Department continued its investigation Monday, more information became available from the GBPD and from the Reno County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 11:40 a.m. Saturday, a motorcycle carrying Shawn and Danielle Schellenger was westbound in the 5600 block of 10th St.; at the same time, William Howard Baker, 59, of Great Bend, was driving toward them in a pickup pulling a trailer that was carrying a mower. The trailer became detached and crossed the center line, clipping the motorcycle.
The Schellengers’ two children were on other motorcycles, one driven by their grandfather, 55-year-old Jeffrey Schellenger of Rose Hill. The children, who were not injured, are 5-year-old Warren Schellenger and his 7-year-old sister, Dominique. They are currently being cared for by a family friend.
After the trailer struck the motorcycle ridden by Shawn and Danielle Schellenger, who were wearing helmets, they were flown to Via Christi Medical Center’s St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. Dawn died Saturday afternoon and Shawn died Sunday.
Jeffrey Schellenger was riding next to them and laid his motorcycle down to miss the accident’s debris. He was taken to Great Bend Regional Hospital where he was treated and released.
Reno County Sheriff Randy Henderson reports that Shawn Schellenger was about to celebrate his one-year anniversary with the department after moving from Butler County.
The deceased couple had both served their country in Iraq and Kuwait, according to a family member. Shawn Schellenger graduated from Rose Hill High School and served 18 months for the U.S. Army in Iraq, according to Henderson.
No arrests were made. Great Bend Lt. Bill Browne said no decisions on whether to file criminal charges will be made until the accident report is complete. “We want to go through this as thoroughly as we can,” he said. After the report in complete, there will be a meeting with the city attorney and county attorney, he added.
Kansas Highway patrolmen, Barton County sheriff’s deputies and personnel from the Great Bend street department assisted with the accident.
