A follow up to an accident story out of Barton County we have been reporting on.

The 31-year-old Hutchinson man hurt in the accident is reportedly an absconder from the Department of Corrections.

Garritt McConnell was sentenced to serve 53-months in prison for burglary, flee and elude, forgery, theft and possession of meth in two cases out of Reno County. All of the convictions for cases from 2007, but also for convictions in McPherson County for forgery and theft from 2008. He was paroled in July and was listed as an absconder from that parole on November 15.

McConnell was convicted for breaking into a show home at 200 Kisiwa Village in Hutchinson and attempted to steal a large television in the early morning hours of January 29, 2007. Apparently, police saw the suspect vehicle, but he then took off heading east of Hutchinson, and then managed to get away. Police said they lost sight of the vehicle around 43rd & Kent Road in the county. That occurring about 4:20 a-m that morning.

McConnell was located later that night at the Trails West Motel in South Hutchinson, and police also allegedly found drugs in the room.

The forgery and theft case goes back to March 11, 2007.

As for the accident, McConnell was westbound on U-S 56, near the intersection with North East 40 Road in Barton County when his 1998 Isuzu Rodeo crossed the center line to the south side of the road. His vehicle then hit a culvert post traveling west into the north ditch where it hit an embankment, became airborne and landed on the west side of the road and rolled 2 ½ times before coming to rest in a field on it’s side.

He was taken to a Wichita hospital, but is believed to now be in custody in Sedgwick County.

He could be sent back to prison to finish his sentence in the Reno and McPherson County cases.