Lawrence man in fair condition after one-vehicle accident near bike ride route

A 31-year-old Lawrence man was listed in fair condition Monday at Kansas University Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., after he was injured in a one-vehicle accident Sunday morning south of Lawrence.

Sgt. Steve Lewis, a Douglas County Sheriff’s spokesman, said Sean Rudisell slammed on the brakes to his Chevrolet Aveo while headed north on County Road 1055 to try to stop at a stop sign at the intersection with County Road 458. The car skidded off the road and hit the ditch northeast of the intersection about 3 miles south of Lawrence. The accident occurred at 6:45 a.m.

Rudisell did not strike any bicyclists or sheriff’s officers who were in the area for the Lizard Under the Skillet bike ride, Lewis said.

Rudisell initially declined medical attention, but a doctor at Lawrence Memorial Hospital examined him when he was taken there for a blood test to determine his blood-alcohol content. He was later transferred to KU Hospital.

Lewis said investigators believe alcohol, reckless driving and disregarding a traffic sign were contributing factors to the accident, and an accident report Monday indicated citations for DUI, transporting an open container, failing to yield at a stop sign, and failing to drive on the right side of the highway because the skid marks started left of the center line.