Car Accident

This weekend is a major milestone for Nicole Smith.  Skydive Kansas in Osage City is her final stop in her journey to skydive in all 50 states.  But more than that, it's proof how far she has come in the last year. "I was in a car accident June of last year, and it put life into perspective for me," says Nicole.  "I sustained several serious injuries: a broken neck, broken back, 4 pelvic fractures, and a couple of broken ribs. It was one of those moments where my family was told I would never have a normal conversation again because of a couple brain injuries that I sustained from the accident, and that I may not be able to walk again" But not only has Nicole made a complete recovery, she has thrown herself into her goal of skydiving in all 50 states.  And the sport that Nicole has developed a passion for has given her a unique perspective.  "You don't really have an idea of how high you are until you are standing in the door and looking down.  It was just so overwhelming seeing the ground, seeing how high I was. " "It becomes more of a sensation of peace, getting up in the air, and being at 14-thousand feet and free-falling.  It puts life into perspective for me, about 60 seconds at time.  The little petty things in life, like someone cutting me off in traffic, some small irritant becomes irrelevant almost.

Seventy four-year-old MaryLou Gunnerson is the latest victim of a familiar scam, often called the “grandparent scam.” The Wichita woman received a call from a person she thought was her nephew. He claimed to be stranded in Spain after a car accident. “He had a cut up face, a broken nose and a cut so they had to take him to the hospital,” says Gunnerson as she describes the call. She says the man was convincing and begged her not to tell his mother. “He needed money…they wouldn't let him out of Madrid until he paid for the accident.” Gunnerson headed for her bank and wired $6,000.

Derby graduate Colby Liston is back home with family and has started his road to recovery after losing both legs in a car accident. Shortly after the accident Liston took to his Twitter account with a positive attitude.  Liston still has the same outlook on life as he shared his story with us from the living room of his Derby home. “I always try to be optimistic about everything and I figured to think about the good things is the best way to be about it,” says Colby.

A Harvey County infant lost her mother this week in a car accident. The girl's father survived, but is still healing after suffering two broken femurs. As he works to recover, he faces raising a nine-month-daughter on his own. That's why friends and family in the town of Sedgwick are organizing a benefit to help them move forward.  "This is where it all started, our friendship back in kindergarten.  We've all been together growing up in a small town, you're classmates for life," said Kirsten Liby.

A Wichita woman in a wheelchair was attacked with brass knuckles for her Coach purse, but the attacker did not get away. Instead the woman's boyfriend tackled the man and held him down until police got to the scene. "This one he hit me with the brass knuckles, he threw me down on this one and started going like this on this one," said victim Keeley McFann. She doesn't want her face on camera, McFann is showing us the bruises she got from an attack Monday night. She broke both legs in a car accident a few weeks ago and was outside her apartment on north Topeka in her wheelchair when a man came up from behind.

Two people were killed in separate accidents on Kansas roadways Monday. One happened at Ridge Road and Highway 50 just west of Newton.Harvey County Safety officials say one person died and a second person is in serious condition after the head-on crash there. In an unrelated accident, one person is dead after a rollover accident near 263rd and Hwy 54. Two vehicles were involved in that crash.

A man is in the hospital after a car accident in far western Sedgwick County last night. A deputy says the driver lost control of his car at 327th West and Six Street South near Garden Plain. The man then hit a mailbox, went airborne, and hit a tree. He was found in his car in the ditch and flown to a Wichita hospital in critical condition. The accident remains under investigation.

Two women are taken to the hospital after and accident on east bound Kellogg. The car went off the road and down the embankment. It stopped after hitting a pole. One woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition, the other in serious condition. Expect more updates on kwch.com as we get them.

A woman in her 40's is in serious condition after an early Thanksgiving morning crash in west Wichita. The accident happened at 12:30 Thursday morning at 21st and Ridge. Police say the car was speeding on westbound 21st Street when it tried to go north on Ridge. Eyewitnesses say the car went airborne for short distance before hitting a utility pole in the northeast corner of 21st and Ridge. The passenger was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but has been upgraded.

A Great Bend man dies after his car collides with a truck Thursday near Larned. The crash happened on K-156 just one mile west of Larned. The Kansas Highway Patrol says a man in a truck was driving west on the highway and slowed down to make a  turn. The driver of an eastbound car hit the truck as it made the turn. The driver of the truck was taken to a Pawnee County hospital with a possible injury. The driver of the car was also taken to the hospital where he died. The driver of the car has been identified as 47-year-old Ricky Perez of Great Bend.