RENO COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Reno County are investigating an apparent accidental shooting.

On Tuesday evening the Reno County Sheriff’s Department reported Detectives had talked to the parents of the shooting victim at a Wichita hospital.

The parents say that the teen is in fair condition however is still in the Intensive Care Unit. They stated that he is looking at another surgery in the next few days and is expected to make a full recovery.

Investigators are still looking into all aspects of the case to get a clear idea of what happened causing the accidental shooting. Once the investigation is complete, all reports will be forwarded to the Reno County District Attorney’s Office for review and determination on whether criminal charges are warranted.

Just after 8 pm, Monday deputies from the Reno County Sheriff’s Office and EMS were dispatched to 2203 Nickerson Blvd on the west side of Hutchinson for a 15-year-old that had been shot in the chest with a shotgun, according to a social media report.

It appears that two teens, including one who lived there and a friend that was visiting, had been out shooting shotguns earlier in the day.

They were on the backside of a barn and there was an accidental discharge, striking the friend in the left upper chest and left arm.

The young man was talking to officers and EMS at the scene and was been transported to Wichita by ground ambulance in serious but stable condition, according to the sheriff’s department.

Names are not being released at this time.

 

 

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Just after 8 p.m. Monday, deputies from the Reno Co Sheriff’s Office and EMS were dispatched to 2203 Nickerson Blvd on the west side of Hutchinson for a 15-year-old that had been shot in the chest with a shotgun.

Sheriff Randy Henderson stated that they are still in the early stages of the investigation but it appears that two 15-year-old’s, one who lived at the home and a friend who was visiting, had been out shooting shotguns earlier in the day. They were on the backside of a barn and there was an accidental discharge, striking the friend in the left upper chest and left arm.

The young man was talking to officers and EMS at the scene and has been transported to Wichita by ground ambulance in serious but stable condition.

Names are not being released at this time.

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — One person has been injured in a two-vehicle accident involving a semi.

Reno County 911 says the accident happened just after 8 a.m. when a pick up driven by 74-year-old James Dix of Hutchinson was struck by the semi driven by 49-year-old David Richmond of Great Bend at the intersection of E. 11th Avenue and K-61.

Dix was taken by EMS to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for treatment, while Richmond was uninjured.

 

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – A $23 million construction project for a new and advanced Intensive Care Unit at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center will be coupled with an upgrade in core mechanical and electrical infrastructure within the hospital complex. Community leaders will participate in a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for 11:30 a.m., Thursday, January 5.

John Deardoff, Hutchinson City Manager and a member of the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors, said the HRMC upgrades rank as one of the top ten construction projects in the city’s history.

Wes Hoyt, Chief Operating Officer for Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System (HRHS), said the total project will be completed in two phases.

Hoyt said Phase I will include a modernization of the hospital’s electrical and mechanical infrastructure grid, with a completion date slated for on or before July 1, 2017.

Hoyt said the $5 million upgrade is the most extensive and significant enhancement in electrical and mechanical facilities undertaken during the 40 plus year history of HRMC.

Phase II, an $18 million construction of a single story, 15,000 square feet ICU located on the west edge of the HRMC campus adjoining the hospital’s Emergency Department, gets underway June 1 with a completion date slated for December 1, 2018. The ICU is utilized an average of 3,000 patient days per year to treat seriously ill patients.

The 18-bed facility will include larger rooms than the original ICU, providing a more user-friendly atmosphere, allowing family members to be with their loved ones during what may be the most critical time in the patient’s life.

The final design for the ICU was the culmination of efforts by the HRMC Leadership Team along with a committee of nurses and staff members who developed a blueprint for a unit that met the needs of patients and families.

Nabholz Construction, a mid-western company that specializes in major construction, served as construction manager for the hospital’s emergency department expansion in 2014 and is the winning bidder for the ICU project. Area subcontractors will be utilized whenever possible.

Kruse Corporation, a Wichita-based firm with a major office in Hutchinson has been retained to supervise the mechanical upgrades and Heineken Electric, a central-Kansas firm headquartered in Beloit, will oversee electrical upgrades.

Health Facilities Group (HFG), a Wichita-based architectural firm has developed plans for the project while Professional Engineering Consultants (PEC), a Wichita company, drew blueprints for the mechanical upgrades.

Updates on the construction progress as well as any changes in patient access, will be released to the news media and general public monthly or on an as-needed basis and will also be available on the Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System website at www.hutchregional.com.

Ken Johnson, President and CEO of Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System, said the ICU construction and mechanical upgrades will serve the healthcare needs of the hospital for the foreseeable future.

“The technological upgrades will provide an opportunity to further enhance the patients’ experience with HRMC and provide the means to deliver more efficient care to the patients we serve,” Johnson said. “The multi-faceted project is undertaken in a time when the healthcare industry is being challenged as we plan for a future that includes an aging population throughout our service area.”

“Our continued existence is based in part on proactive changes as we prepare for a future that is uncertain,” Johnson continued. “Throughout our history, HRMC has taken its responsibility seriously and these improvements are a major step forward to continue that tradition.”

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – At around 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, Reno County Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to 11713 S. Victory Rd. for a suspicious vehicle. The description of the vehicle was a dark blue Dodge pickup and matched the description of a vehicle reported stolen out of Hutchinson earlier in the morning.

Deputies, along with a trooper from the Kansas Highway Patrol, were able to locate the vehicle driving westbound on Illinois from Yoder Road. The vehicle went north on Halstead. As deputies were still trying to catch up with the vehicle, it turned east on Blanchard at a high rate of speed. The vehicle lost control on the curve and left the roadway to the right, entering the ditch, and overturning onto its top.

The driver, 19-year-old Alex Currie, reported no injuries and was taken into custody by the Hutchinson Police Department. Twenty-four-year-old Heather O’Gorman reported minor injuries and was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for treatment, then taken to jail. Both face potential charges of felony theft and burglary.

Neither occupant was wearing their seat belt at the time of the accident. Airbags did not deploy.

The stolen vehicle is being investigated by the Hutchinson Police Department. The accident is being investigated by the Reno County Sheriff’s Office.

The pickup was reported stolen from a residence in the 1500 block of West 12th around 5:40 a.m.

Currie, who is on Community Corrections for theft and drug charges, has a bond set at $9,000 while the bond for O’Gorman is set at $6,000. Unless they make bond, both should appear in court on Thursday morning.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A 21-year-old Inman man was killed early Saturday in a one-vehicle accident in Hutchinson. Killed in the accident was Michael Gray Buzzard.

According to Hutchinson Police, at around 2:36 a.m. witnesses found a 1993 Ford Ranger pickup in the drainage ditch that runs along the west side of Plum Street in the 2400 block.

The pickup is believed to have been eastbound on State Fair Road and failed to negotiate the roadway as it curved south. The pickup continued east through a steel cable, then across a grass field belonging to The Kansas State Fair. The vehicle continued east across the field for a short distance before going into the drainage ditch and impacting the embankment of the ditch.

Buzzard was pronounced dead at the scene. Buzzard wasn’t wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision.