A five-year-old girl from Ark City is continuing to recover from a traffic accident Tuesday morning on U.S. 77 that involved a driver going the wrong way.
The child was not breathing at the scene of the crash and had to be resuscitated by emergency personnel, according to Cowley County Sheriff David Falletti.
In a post on the Ark City First Assembly Facebook page, the church reports that 32-year-old Alexis Smith and her daughter Elise, are continuing to recover. Alexis is sore and has no broken bones.
Elise is to be transported to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City this week for surgery. She sustained injuries to the tendons in her neck. Donations for the family can be made to Ark City 1st Assembly and place Smiths in the tab line and mail to 3125 N. Summit in Ark City.
On Tuesday morning, a 2002 Dodge Dakota collided with a 2014 GMC Acadia near 77 and Country Club Rd. south of Winfield. The male driver of the pickup, identified as 91-year-old Walter J. Thurman, of Ark City, was dead at the scene.
In the moments before the crash, the sheriff’s office had received reports of a wrong-way driver in the area. Investigators believe Thurman turned into the southbound lanes going north from 202nd Rd.
