Emergency personnel stay busy with more rollovers

    Two more rollovers out of three accidents reported called emergency personnel the past week. Two other rollovers were investigated just days earlier.
    Chase County Sheriff Kevin Mueller said two of the three drivers, the lone occupants in their vehicles, escaped without injuries, but a third was knocked unconscious after his rollover.
    Along with a sheriff’s deputy, Wauneta emergency personnel responded to the Friday morning accident on Old Highway 6 near Road 735, north of Wauneta.
    Bonnie Cochran, 28, of Imperial was traveling west on the highway in a 2002 Ford Explorer when she received a phone call and looked at her phone, according to Mueller.
    That sent her into the south ditch, and after looking up, she was heading toward a canyon, and over-corrected, according to the report. She then crossed the highway, and rolled the vehicle onto its roof.
    Cochran was transported to Chase County Community Hospital, where she was treated but had no injuries, Mueller reported.
    Also responding was the Wauneta Volunteer Fire Department. Imperial’s fire department was called but was turned back en route.
    A 5:21 a.m. single vehicle rollover Saturday, southeast of Imperial, called county deputies, Imperial fire and EMS to Road 729 between Avenues 334 and 336, Sheriff Mueller said.
    Jose Frias, 48, of rural Enders was driving a 2014 Ford F-150 pickup eastbound on Road 729 when the vehicle left the roadway into the south ditch, Mueller said.
    Frias over-corrected, sending the vehicle out of the south ditch and north across the roadway into the north ditch, where the pickup rolled over.
    Frias told deputies he was knocked unconscious from the wreck and called 911 for help after he regained consciousness.
    Imperial firefighters had to use emergency equipment to extricate Frias, who was transported to the Chase County Community Hospital by the Imperial EMS for treatment.
    The pickup was a total loss, Mueller said. Seat belts were not in use. Speed and alcohol are suspected as contributing factors in the accident, he said.
    Kamrie Dillan, 20, of Imperial escaped without injuries after hitting a deer Monday night west of Imperial. The call came in at 8:43 p.m., according to the report.
    She was the sole occupant in the eastbound 2013 Lincoln SUV that sustained more than $15,000 in damage when she hit the deer crossing the highway.
    Mueller said Dillan, who was wearing a seat belt, was able to get the vehicle safely off the roadway. The air bags also deployed, he said.