BARTON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal hit and run accident and asking the public for help to locate the vehicle.

At 7:21 p.m. Wednesday, the Great Bend Police Department and the Great Bend Fire Department ambulance personnel were dispatched to the 4200 block of 10th Street in Great Bend in reference to an injury accident, according to a media release.

When Officers arrived, they found 65-year-old James Zager, Holden, MO. laying in the roadway, unresponsive.

He was transported to Great Bend Regional Hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries.

Witnesses described a light colored, possibly white or light blue, full size pick up with a grill guard and an “oversize load” sign on the front and unknown Oklahoma license plate traveling westbound on 10th Street.

Zager was reported to be crossing 10th Street on foot, when he was struck by the pick up. After the pick up struck Zager, the pickup continued westbound on 10th Street in Great Bend.

At this time, the vehicle has not been located. The Great Bend Police Department asks that anyone who may have any information about the accident or the vehicle, to contact the Great Bend Police Department at 620-793-4120 or Crime Stoppers at 620-792-1300 or 888-305-1300.

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House official says plan being discussed to replace Secretary of State Tillerson with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

President Donald Trump selected Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil CEO, back in December, shortly after he was elected.

A native of Wichita Falls, Texas, Tillerson came to Exxon Mobil Corp. as a production engineer straight out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and never left. Groomed for an executive position, Tillerson came up in the rough-and-tumble world of oil production, holding posts in the company’s central United States, Yemen and Russian operations.

The U.S. Senate voted 66-32 to confirm Pompo’s appointment as CIA Director.

The 53-year-old Pompeo was originally elected to serve Kansas fourth congressional district in 2010

MOUND CITY –A Kansas man was sentenced Wednesday to nearly 12 years in prison for battery of a law enforcement officer and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

John Teters, 55, pleaded guilty in September to one count each of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery of a law enforcement officer. Teters was sentenced in Linn County District Court by Judge Terri Johnson to 142 months to be served in the Kansas Department of Corrections. The convictions stemmed from a crime that was committed in August.

Teters has previous convictions for second degree murder, theft and aggravated escape from custody, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Houston man playing video games in an online group says he and others heard the gunshots that hundreds of miles away killed a Kansas man and his mother this past weekend.

Three to four players, including one from Canada, were playing online Saturday night when one of them and his mother were shot. The gamers could hear, but not see, each other.

Among the players that evening was 23-year-old Cody Ha, who lived with his 62-year-old mother, Huong Pham, in Wichita.

Playing online from Houston was Ha’s friend Ashley Martinez. Martinez says he and the other gamers heard popping noises so loud it hurt his ears under the headphones.

When they called Ha’s number, they could hear his phone ringing.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on NBC’s firing of longtime “Today” host Matt Lauer: (all times local):

7:20 a.m.

Matt Lauer says he is “truly sorry” to anyone he has hurt by his words and actions in his first public comments since being fired by NBC.

Lauer’s former “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie read a statement from Lauer at the top of Thursday’s show, a day he was fired by NBC for “inappropriate sexual behavior.” Published reports accuse Lauer of crude and habitual misconduct with other women around the office.

 

Lauer says in the statement: “Some of what is being said about me is untrue or mischaracterized. But there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel embarrassed or ashamed.

He says “repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul searching” and says he’s “committed to beginning that effort.”

___

12:05 a.m.

Fired “Today” host Matt Lauer is the biggest media figure brought down by sexual misconduct allegations since Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes were ousted from Fox News Channel.

Lauer’s exit comes amid a wave of accusations sweeping through the media, Hollywood and politics.

He has long been a valuable and highly visible part of NBC News and one of the highest-paid figures in the industry.

Lauer was fired Wednesday for what NBC called “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a colleague.

The announcement was quickly followed by a published report accusing him of crude and habitual misconduct with other women around the office.

SHAWNEE COUNTY  —The investigation of a fatal officer-involved shooting has been forwarded to the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office for review.  Topeka

Earlier this month, Topeka Police had asked the Lawrence Police to investigate the shooting that killed Dominique White.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Lawrence Police Department reported in a media release they completed the investigation of the incident that occurred on September 28. Just after 9:30p.m. that night, police responded to the 300 Block of Southeast Lawrence, in Topeka regarding a report of a disturbance with shots fired in the area.

Officers responding encountered a suspicious person identified as Dominique Tyrell White, 30, Topeka. White had a handgun.  In the process of trying to secure the firearm, the White struggled with officers and attempted to flee.

While fleeing from officers, White reached for the pocket containing the firearm, causing the officers to fire their weapons. White sustained life-threatening injuries as a result.
Officers immediately provided medical assistance and summoned AMR who transported White to a local hospital where the he was pronounced dead.

White’s gun was recovered from the scene. Kansas Department of Corrections records showed White went to prison in 2015 for felony burglary and was discharged in August 2016.

The records show he returned to prison in October 2016 for illegal possession of a firearm as a felon and was released in May.

White Family spokeswoman Heather Joyce says police aren’t providing any information in the case. Police also have denied requests from media seeking the identity of officers involved in the shooting.

GARDNER, Kan. (AP) — A judge has found sufficient evidence for a woman to be tried in the death of her fiance’s 2-year-old daughter.

The Kansas City Star reports that 25-year-old Lindsey Thomasson entered a not guilty plea after she was bound over for trial Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder. Prosecutors allege that Presley Porting died of child abuse in February in Gardner.

A trial date could be set at her next court appearance in January. Thomasson is jailed on $2 million bond.