HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 10-year-old child was taken to a Wichita hospital after being struck by a truck Wednesday evening.

It happened just after 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of 11th & Main. According to Hutchinson Police Sgt. Brian Hirt, the child was walking in the cross walk heading east when the truck, driven by 35-year-old Aaron Sinnett, tried to turn south on Main and struck the child.

She was transported in serious condition with a head injury, but apparently her condition got worse and she was then flown to Wichita for further treatment. Hirt didn’t know her condition Thursday morning but told us she was having trouble breathing when he was at the hospital in Hutchinson.

Sinnett was cited for failing to yield the right-of-away for a pedestrian.

The child’s name was not released.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The jury in the case against a 23-year-old man in a child sex case was found “guilty” of two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and a misdemeanor count of intimidation of witness.

District Attorney Keith Schroeder says the jury found Tanner Ward “not guilty” of aggravated burglary and criminal threat.

The indecent liberties charges involve a child 14 to 16 years of age are occurred on two dates, Jan. 9 and again on Jan. 11.

The aggravated burglary charges was over Ward allegedly going into a home in the 100 block of East 5th to allegedly intimidate a victim or for a sexually motivated crime. The mother said she found him laying on her daughters bed. He was later found inside the garage of that home when police arrived. That was on June 23.

The final charge of criminal threat is alleged to have occurred on Feb. 15, where he allegedly threatened to cut another person’s head off. Saying once all this is over, he would go to the victims mothers home and take care of her. In a conversation with his ex, he makes the statement, “off with her head.”

Despite being found not guilty on those two charges, Schroeder says he’s still happy with the outcome of the trial.

Sentencing will be before Judge Tim Chambers in Jan.

Ward has another case where he was originally arrested for burglary after he allegedly stole some copper pipes from the construction site at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, then took the pipes to Midwest Iron and Metal and sold them for cash. In doing so, he apparently signed papers saying the items were his. The state charged him with making false writing.

Ward is also alleged to have made contact with the alleged victim urging her to not show in court to testify telling her she wouldn’t be in trouble if she told them she simply forgot. Schroeder charged him with another count of Intimidation of a witness.

Those cases are still pending.

RENO COUNTY – A Kansas teen died in an accident just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Reno County.

The Reno County Sheriff’s Department reported an early model Ford F250 pickup driven by Braden J. Gates, 19, of Rural Mt. Hope, was traveling in the 14700 Block of East Maple Grove Road just east of Worthington Road.

The pickup rolled and Gates was ejected. He was flown to Wesley Medical Center where he died.

Gates was not wearing a seat belt, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A woman who gave her ex-boyfriend the guns he used in February’s mass shooting at a Kansas lawn equipment factory has been ordered to spend a year on supervised release.

A federal judge in Wichita, Kansas, on Monday also credited Sarah Hopkins for time she’s already served in jail. Prosecutors had agreed not to oppose Hopkins’ probation request.

Hopkins pleaded guilty to not alerting authorities that a convicted felon unlawfully possessed firearms.

Prosecutors say Hopkins gave a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun to Cedric Ford, who used the weapons in a Feb. 25 shooting at the Excel Industries plant in Hesston that killed three people and wounded 14. Ford was killed by police.

Hopkins’ attorney says she suffered from PTSD and battered woman’s syndrome at the time.

 

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge will decide whether a woman who gave her ex-boyfriend guns he used in February’s mass shooting at a Kansas lawn equipment factory should spend any time in prison.

The sentencing hearing for Sarah Hopkins is Monday in federal court in Wichita. She has pleaded guilty to not alerting authorities that a convicted felon unlawfully possessed firearms.

Her defense attorney has contended she suffered from PTSD and battered woman’s syndrome at the time of the offenses.

Prosecutors say Hopkins gave a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun to Cedric Ford, who used those weapons Feb. 25 in a shooting at the Excel Industries plant in Hesston that killed three people and wounded 14. Ford was killed by police.

Prosecutors have agreed not to oppose her request for probation.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A woman who gave her ex-boyfriend the guns he used in February’s mass shooting at a Kansas lawn equipment factory will return to federal court for sentencing.

The defense attorney for Sarah Hopkins has filed a sealed sentencing memorandum that includes her psychological evaluation in advance of Monday’s hearing.

Earlier filings contended she suffered from PTSD and battered woman’s syndrome at the time of the offenses.

Prosecutors say Hopkins gave a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun to Cedric Ford, who used those weapons Feb. 25 in a shooting at the Excel Industries plant in Hesston that killed three people and wounded 14. Ford was killed by police.

Hopkins has pleaded guilty to not alerting authorities that a convicted felon unlawfully possessed firearms.

Prosecutors have agreed not to oppose her request for probation.

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Fire crews were busy Saturday with two incidents less than an hour apart.

At around 2:10 p.m., fire crews were dispatched to the 200 block of West 11th for the report of a structure fire. Arriving units found a working fire on a 20’ x 20’ detached garage.

The garage was less than 10 feet from the residence, but the fire was quickly extinguished and the damage was mostly confined to the exterior of the garage and a nearby fence. The residence was unaffected.

Fire Department officials estimate $15,000 in damages to property and the contents within the structure. Seven units responded and traffic was rerouted by police for approximately 1 1/2 hours on Adams.

No injuries were reported by occupants or fire personnel. The cause is still under investigation.

During the garage fire on West 11th, at 2:45 p.m., multiple passers-by reported a fire in a ditch in the 3000 Block of North Wilson Road.

Six Hutchinson Fire units arrived to find a grass fire of less than an acre in the ditch, but had involved 25-30 round bales of hay in the attached field. The forward progress of the grass fire had stopped on 3 of 4 fronts, but the remaining back burning fire threatened a row of cedar trees and another line of hay bales.

Initial arriving brush units were able to extinguish the remaining grass fire before the cedars became involved and the focus shifted to the hay bales. They were moved farther into the field of green wheat with the help of the property owner and allowed to burn.

The initial threatening fire was controlled in 10 minutes, but the hay bales will continue to burn well into the night under the supervision of the Hutchinson Fire Department.

The cause doesn’t appear to be suspicious in nature.

BRIDGEPORT, Texas — Two Buhler residents were injured when their plane crashed northwest of Dallas this morning.

Authorities say 66-year-old Dr. Dal Hunt, a local dentist, and his wife, 62-year-old Sara, were in the small plane that crashed around 11:15 Wednesday morning. According to KDFW TV in Dallas, the Cessna 182 took off from the Bridgeport Municipal Airport when the plane suffered mechanical failure.

The couple tried to turn back to the airport but crashed into a field, hitting a tree. Sara Hunt was airlifted to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, while Dal was transported to Wise County Regional Medical Center in Decatur.

According to air traffic control at Hutchinson Regional Airport, the plane left Hutchinson around 8:30 a.m. and landed in Bridgeport just before 10:30.

 

Photo courtesy of KDFW TV Dallas/Ft Worth

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Hutchinson Fire Department says that while the exact cause of the fire that destroyed two apartment complexes on Tuesday may never be known it does appear that the fire may have been started by a discarded cigarette.

The Tuesday morning fire destroyed two apartment buildings at the Ridgewood Apartments. Fire crews were called out to 33rd and Garden Grove Parkway just after midnight Monday morning and arrived to find two of the four unit buildings fully involved.

Doug Hanen of the Hutchinson Fire Department says a arson detection dog was brought in but nothing suspicious was found. The fire injured three fire fighters and a one resident suffered minor injuries. All were treated and released.

Both buildings and their contents are a total loss, and one vehicle suffered damage due to its close proximity to the fire.