Cheney police chief, another driver injured
By Travis Mounts
A chase that started about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Cheney ended just outside of town with a three-vehicle accident at 15th Street South and 359th Street West that left a child transported to the hospital in critical condition.
The chase began after 2 p.m. on Main Street in Cheney, right in front of the Times-Sentinel Newspapers office, when Cheney spotted a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The white full-size pickup turn east on Santa Fe, pursued by a Cheney police vehicle. Another Cheney police vehicle went east on First Avenue. The chase proceeded east out of town, then went north on 359th Street West, a dirt road.
The chase ended after the driver of the truck went down 359th Street Street West north of 15th Street South, according to several eyewitnesses. A construction crew putting in an underground pipeline was working at the intersection. Several of them saw the accident happen.
They reported that the pickup was moving north on 359th Street at a high rate of speed, pursued by law enforcement down the dirt road. The pickup driver crossed 15th Street, which dead ends about a half mile away. The pickup turned around and headed south. As it crossed 15th Street South, the pickup collided with an eastbound gold SUV as well as a black police SUV driven by Cheney Police Chief Ken Winter.
The child, under the age of 4, was a passenger in the white pickup and suffered potentially critical injuries. A person at the scene identified himself as a relative of the child and said the child and the suspect were related. That information could not be immediately confirmed.
Several of the witnesses were visibly shaken by the crash. One man said he could see that the truck was going to hit the SUV, and felt helpless that he wasn’t able to stop it.
The pickup was reportedly stolen from the Norwich area in Kingman County, not far from Cheney.
The pickup driver was taken into custody. The SUV driver and Winter suffered injuries, although Times-Sentinel Newspapers could not confirm the severity of their injuries at press time.
Neither the suspect nor the injured driver of the SUV had been identified late Tuesday.
The chase involved Cheney and Goddard police and Sedgwick County Sheriff’s deputies. Additional law enforcement on scene include KHP and KDWPT plus Cheney Fire and Rescue and Sedgwick County EMS.
No other details could be confirmed at press time Tuesday evening.
