Butler County

Butler County officials call crews as far as Garden City and Topeka to test its new emergency communication equipment. The upgrade was federally mandated it involves switching to digital so emergency services can cover a larger area. The radio system is linked to the state-wide communication system. "Our first call was to Garden City! Think about it, that wasn't possible five years ago it just wasn't and now it's so important," said Deb Miller the Secretary of Kansas Department of Transportation.

A Butler County driver is in serious condition after rolling his car southwest of Augusta overnight. It happened just before 3:00 Thursday morning at Southwest Santa Fe Lake Road and 130th Street. The Butler County Sheriff's Office tells us the driver drifted off the shoulder, then over-corrected and rolled his car several times.  The driver was thrown from the car. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment. No one else was hurt.

A road construction worker involved in a cement truck rollover in Butler County has died. The accident occurred Friday afternoon at NW 120th & Hwy 77, near the town of Burns.  Butler County officials say the truck was heading northbound on Hwy 77, when it blew tire on the right rear axel. The cement truck rolled over and pinned the driver inside. The victim man was flown to Wesley Medical Center with critical injuries. He died a short time later.  

Firefighters have put out two grass fires in Butler County.  The first was at SW 50 th and SW Fulton. Towanda crews worked on this fire. The second grass fire was about five miles south of the first fire. Augusta firefighters extinguished this second fire.  

A Towanda man was airlifted to a Wichita hospital after rolling his van Friday. The accident happened around ten Friday morning in Butler County at Northwest 20th and Indianola Road. Sheriff's deputies say a 62-year-old man was driving east bound on NW 20th when he drove across some large ruts in the road.  He lost control and rolled the van several times.  He was ejected and partially trapped under the van.  Firefighters helped free the man from the wreckage.  He was then airlifted in critical condition.

An Iowa man is in a Wichita hospital after crashing his truck into an overpass in Butler County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the driver was about a mile west of Haverhill on Highway 54 when he fell asleep at the wheel. The 35-year-old somehow got wedged up underneath the overpass. Paramedics rushed him to a Wichita hospital with potentially critical injuries. A trooper tells us the man was passing through Kansas to Mexico.

Police arrest two people after a chase that stretched from Wichita into Butler County.  It all started with a robbery at the Subway restaurant in the 300 block of S. Greenwich Road.  Police say the robber ordered sandwiches, then demanded money from the cash register.  He then got into a car driven by a woman and left the scene. A short time later, a sheriff's deputy noticed a vehicle matching the description from the robbery and tried to pull it over. The suspects gave chase, which led to 210 Street S. and Cole Creek Road in Butler County.

One person is injured in a plane crash in Butler County. The accident happened just after 11:00am Saturday morning just north of the Benton airport at 2759 S.W. Prairie Creek Road. Officials say 55-year-old Michael Frazier of Benton, was flying into the Benton Airport when his plane had some sort of engine problems. It attempted to land in a nearby field when it did cart-wheeled into the garage of a nearby home. Frazier was taken to a Wichita hospital in stable condition.

Butler County Emergency Medical Services announced Friday they have created a Butler County Public Responder Network (BCPR) and they're making CPR training a top priority. The BCPR network will offer free training for CPR and use of an Automated External Defibrillator. The training will also be offered to students at Butler County schools. Cardiac Arrest that occurs out of the hospital affects 50,000-100,000 people per year. Unfortunately, only about 6% of people survive on average.

It’s only May, but the Rose Hill fire chief is warning roofers to take precautions in the heat. Chief Jim Woydziak is handing out brochures to crews in town after a heat related death in Butler County Monday. "We tried to make contact with every crew we could find," says Woydziak. The man was working on a roof when co-workers tried driving him to the hospital.  An ambulance met the crew, but it was too late.  The man died a short time later. Record breaking temperatures soared to 100 degrees Monday.