Law enforcement investigators are continuing attempts to establish the exact circumstances of an accident early Friday morning that claimed the life of 21-year-old Maleah Archer of Ark City.
Cowley County Undersheriff Christina McDonald – in response to questions from Cowley Post Monday – said her office has yet to determine who was driving the 2012 Nissan. 30-year-old Andy Owen Minnie, of Ark City, was also an occupant of the vehicle.
He was taken by air ambulance to a Wichita hospital following the accident. An update on his current condition has not been made available.
McDonald said her own attempts to contact a family member of Minnie’s, for an update, have so far been unsuccessful. Minnie was said to be in critical condition the morning of the crash.
Archer was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Minnie was removed from the vehicle by Ark City Fire and EMS. Neither occupant was wearing a seat belt, according to the sheriff’s dept.
Around 7 a.m. that morning, deputies were sent to the 32000 block of 61st, south of Ark City, for the report of a rollover accident. The Nissan was northbound on that road and lost control.
It entered the east ditch and rolled several times before coming to rest against a tree in the yard of a home. McDonald said an event data recorder – that is part of most modern vehicles – could not provide a precise speed the vehicle was going at the time of the accident.
Scene investigation, though, determined the vehicle was traveling at an excessive speed, she said.
Ark City police and the Kansas Highway Patrol assisted at the scene.
