Something that happened not far from me.
Teen killed, another seriously injured in crash with combine
By ROBERT A. CRONKLETON
The Kansas City Star
A 14-year-old Franklin County boy died when the pickup truck he was riding in crashed into a combine in Franklin County.
Trevor Wormel of Williamsburg was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. He was a passenger in a 1993 Ford Ranger pickup driven by Preston Bunyard, 17, of rural Williamsburg, according to a release from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Bunyard also was injured in the crash and was flown to a Kansas City hospital in serious condition, according to the release.
The crash occurred about 5:10 p.m. Wednesday about one mile south of Pomona, Kan., on Colorado Road.
The two teens were going around a curve as they headed south on Colorado Road when they came across a combine that was headed north on Colorado Road.
As Bunyard moved over the west edge of the roadway to make room for the combine, the right tires of the pickup went off the roadway’s paved surface. As he passed the combine, he tried to bring the pickup back onto the roadway and crashed into a second combine also headed north, according to the release.
Emergency crews from the Pomona Township Fire Department and the Franklin County Ambulance Service had to extricate both Bunyard and Wormel, who were trapped in the wreckage.
Bunyard and Wormel were students at West Franklin High School in Pomona, Kan., and the school was making arrangements to help students deal the death of their fellow classmate.
The Franklin county Sheriff’s Office critical accident investigation unit continues to investigate the crash.