Judy Wilson saw the Chevrolet sport utility vehicle speed past her house Saturday afternoon and knew it wasn't going to be able to stop at the U.S. Highway 56 intersection.
"I heard them hit," Wilson, 54, said. "I heard a crunch."
Emergency crews work the scene of an accident involving a school bus and a sport utility vehicle near the intersection of U.S. Highway 56 and County Road 1061 east of Baldwin. The driver of the SUV, Robert Cronin of Eudora, was killed in the crash Saturday; no one aboard the school bus was injured, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.
Douglas County on Saturday recorded its second traffic fatality in as many days both coming at Highway 56 intersections.
Robert D. Cronin, 58, Eudora, died when the SUV he was driving collided with a school bus carrying the DeSoto High School forensics team, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol and a school official.
No one on the school bus was injured, DeSoto Principal Debbie Lynn said.
Cronin was northbound on County Road 1061 about 4.5 miles east of Baldwin when it crossed in front of the bus, a Highway Patrol report said. The bus was eastbound on Highway 56.
Cronin's vehicle caught fire after the collision.
Judy Wilson and her husband, John Wilson, who live on the southeast corner of the intersection, went out to assist after calling 911.
The Wilsons, who have lived near the intersection for 13 years, say there have been several accidents during that time. Two people died two years ago in a similar accident, they said.
"It's hard for us to keep going out there for this," Judy Wilson said.
"It needs to be better marked," John Wilson said. "People drive up there and don't realize there's a highway there. We've been trying to get the state to do something about this for years."
A group of students hug after a two-vehicle fatality accident involving a school bus and a Chevrolet Blazer. The accident Saturday afternoon on U.S. Highway 56 and County Road 1061 killed the driver of the Blazer.
Neighbors in the area have even written to the governor's office about the intersection, the Wilsons said.
"They should also have some directional signs down here," John Wilson said. "A lot of people have waved me over when I've been out mowing to ask where they are."
Anna Head, 70, who also lives near the intersection, agreed with the Wilsons.
"This is just a bad corner," she said. "They did put up bigger signs, but it doesn't do any good. I've sat out on my porch and watched people drive right through them."
Thirteen passengers were on the DeSoto bus, the Highway Patrol report said. The driver, identified as Tracy A. Copes, was not hurt.
The students were returning home from a debate tournament at Santa Fe Trail High School near Carbondale, Lynn said.
"It's been very difficult for the kids, but they're doing all right," she said.
Three of the students were supposed to perform in a school play Saturday night but the play was canceled, Lynn said.
Friday evening a Winchester woman died in a two-vehicle collision west of Baldwin at the intersection of U.S. Highways 56 and 59. She was identified as Debra J. Plank, 40.
An accident report said Plank's vehicle was eastbound on U.S. Highway 56 and had stopped at the road's intersection with U.S. Highway 59. The report said Plank failed to yield and broadsided a southbound vehicle driven by Ryan W. Dickinson, 19, Ottawa.
April Plank, 40, a passenger in the vehicle driven by Debra Plank, was admitted to Overland Park Regional Medical Center, where she was taken by air ambulance. She was released Saturday, a hospital spokesperson said.
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.