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Cement truck crash injures driver
Cement truck crash
A cement truck overturned while attempting to negotiate a curve at Railroad Avenue and Washington Street in Great Bend Monday afternoon. The driver, Colin Welch of Great Bend, was transported to The University of Kansas Health System - Great Bend Campus with injuries that were not life-threatening. - COURTESY PHOTOS/BARTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

The driver of a cement truck was transported to the hospital after the truck overturned at a south Great Bend intersection Monday afternoon.

According to Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir, at shortly before 2:30 p.m. Monday, BCSO deputies responded to the intersection of Railroad Avenue at Washington Street at the south city limits of Great Bend, where they discovered a 2006 Mack cement truck that had overturned in the curve and was lying across the railroad tracks.

The driver was Colin Welch, 26, of Great Bend, who was westbound on Railroad Avenue when he entered the curve connecting to Washington Street in the truck, which was loaded with water. Evidence suggests Welch’s speed was too great to negotiate the curve. That, as well as the water shifting in the drum of the truck, caused the vehicle to overturn onto the driver’s side. 

Welch was transported to The University of Kansas Health System - Great Bend Campus by Great Bend Fire Department ambulance, where he was treated for what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. 

The roadway was closed for about an hour and train traffic was halted until the tracks could be inspected following the crash. Bellendir said he believed the truck would be a total loss.

The Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by Great Bend Fire and EMS.

Cement truck crash - 2
A cement truck overturned while attempting to negotiate a curve at Railroad Avenue and Washington Street in Great Bend Monday afternoon. The driver, Colin Welch of Great Bend, was transported to The University of Kansas Health System - Great Bend Campus with injuries that were not life-threatening. - COURTESY PHOTOS/BARTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE