Photo by Jeff Myrick

A two-vehicle accident south of Baldwin City on County Road 150 sent an unidentified woman to a Kansas City area hospital today. She was sent by helicopter ambulance after the accident, which occured shortly after 1 p.m. The minivan headed west on County Road 150 when it ran into the back of a dump truck that was also headed west.

Suzi Gottstein, 63, Baldwin City, was taken by helicopter ambulance to the Kansas University Medical Center because of injuries suffered in a two-vehicle accident south of Baldwin City on County Road 150 Tuesday. She is in stable condition.

The accident happened shortly after 1 p.m. when a minivan driven westbound by Gottstein on North County Road 150 ran into the back of a dump truck that was also headed west.

"It was bad," said John Hetherington, 50, Edgerton, who was driving the Nigh Trucking dump truck when it was struck from behind. "She just plowed into me. There aren't any skid marks from the brakes or anything. She was following too close and the dust on the road was bad.

"All I could think about was the babies," said Hetherington, who immediately checked on two small children who were in car seats in the van. "I've got grandkids. One of them had a split lip, but the grandma was pretty bad. She had a broken arm and her chest was hurt."

Tessa Gottstein, 8, and Brandon Gottstein, 3, were both in the back seat of the van in child restraint devices. Baldwin City police officer Chad Rien credited that for no injuries to them.

"They worked," said Rien, who also confirmed Hetherington's account of the accident. "No skid marks, she just slammed into the back of him."

Douglas County Sheriff Lt. Keri Wempe also said the child restraints proved their worth.

"Absolutely, that's true," said Wempe.

She had received the initial accident report Wednesday morning and confirmed the accounts, plus added additional detail.

"From what I was told, apparently there were several dump trucks in the area and lots of dust, which didn't help," said Wempe. "She just hit the back end of the dump truck. The dump truck came to a stop to make a turn and she didn't see him because of the dust."

According to Baldwin School District officials, where Gottstein works, she had surgery Tuesday night for injuries sustained to her arm and leg. The injuries were not life threatening, the spokesperson said.

Douglas County Sheriff's officers investigated the accident. Numerous sheriff's cars, one Baldwin City police car and two Palmyra Township fire trucks were at the scene. LifeStar transported Gottstein.

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