Car totaled in rural accident; driver leaves scene of another

    A car was totaled and the driver inside unable to free herself in an accident last week that left the vehicle totaled.
    Chase County Sheriff Kevin Mueller said the 7:15 p.m. call March 2 came in to the dispatch center, after a passerby saw a vehicle in the south ditch, a mile and a half east of AK Acres on 740 Road.
    Driver Bernita Greeley, 88, of rural Imperial was the lone occupant in the 2006 Mercury Marquis that had struck a utility pole. Mueller said she was unable to free herself as a result of the impact, but was safely extricated from the car.
    She was transported to the Chase County Community Hospital by Imperial EMS with non-life threatening injuries, Mueller said.
    Southwest Public Power personnel were contacted regarding minor damage to the power pole. The vehicle was later towed from the scene, he said.
    In addition to the Chase County Sheriff’s Office and EMS, the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department was also dispatched to the area.
Vehicle left at scene
    The sheriff’s office continues to investigate an accident last weekend near Champion.
    About 5:50 a.m. Sunday, Mueller said his office received a report of a motor vehicle accident near the 327 Avenue and 734 Road intersection, just south of Champion.
    The reporting party had come up on the vehicle on 327 Avenue, but no one was around it “and it appeared to have been there for awhile,” Mueller said.
    Once the deputy arrived on scene, Mueller reported it was determined the accident occurred sometime around 1 a.m. that morning.
    The driver was identified as Cody Wiest of Imperial, he said.
    Mueller said Wiest lost control of the 2000 Pontiac Bonneville and went into the east ditch and rolled one time.
    “The driver was uninjured and left the scene. The vehicle was totaled,” he said.
    Alcohol and speed appear to be contributing factors, he added, and the investigation is ongoing.