Injury accidents delay Turnpike traffic

Two separate accidents Tuesday evening on the Kansas Turnpike west of Lawrence slowed or stopped traffic for miles in both directions.

Details about the accidents were sketchy, and they still were under investigation late Tuesday night.

Shortly before 7 p.m. an eastbound semi-tractor trailer jack-knifed and smashed through the concrete median barrier into the westbound lanes, according to the Kansas Turnpike Authority. There was a small fire in the cab but it was quickly extinguished, a turnpike dispatcher said. The accident occurred about five miles west of Lawrence.

One man injured at the scene was taken by ambulance to Lawrence Memorial Hospital. His identity and condition were not available.

At about the same time a mile farther west in the eastbound lanes, a pick-up truck struck the back of a semi-tractor trailer. One person was taken by ambulance to a Topeka hospital. No other details were available.

Court hearing postponed in alleged assault case

A court hearing for a former downtown restaurant manager charged with holding a waiter at gunpoint was postponed Tuesday until Sept. 23.

Lawrence resident James I. Truscello, former general manager at Teller’s, 746 Mass., faces one count of aggravated assault.

Tuesday’s preliminary hearing — an opportunity for his attorney to cross-examine the state’s witnesses — was postponed because a police officer slated to testify at the hearing had a scheduling conflict.

Waiter David J. Kessler claims that on Jan. 10, Truscello held him at gunpoint in a basement room because Truscello suspected he was overcharging customers on their bills.

Suspect found guilty of mistreating dependent

A Lawrence woman pleaded no contest Tuesday in Douglas County District Court to mistreating a dependent adult.

Berdella I. Harrell, 40, won’t contest allegations she took part in the mistreatment last year of her father-in-law, Henry F. Harrell, 84, who died in November 2002.

Berdella’s husband, Timothy D. Harrell, 44, is charged with second-degree murder and mistreatment of an adult in the same case. Prosecutors accused the two of withholding care and treatment from Henry Harrell, who suffered from dementia.

Asst. Dist. Atty. Dave Zabel told Judge Michael Malone that Henry Harrell was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital by his son on Nov. 7, 2002. Henry Harrell died Nov. 20, 2002, from infections caused by bed sores and pneumonia, Zabel said an autopsy report concluded.

Malone accepted Berdella Harrell’s plea and then found her guilty. He set sentencing for Berdella Harrell for 4 p.m. Sept. 12. Mistreatment of a dependent adult is a misdemeanor, and she could be sentenced for up to a year in prison.

Timothy Harrell is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday.