Man injured in accident about midnight Saturday near Baldwin City listed in serious condition; officers investigate alcohol as factor in crash

Alcohol and inattentive driving are listed as contributing factors in a one-vehicle accident that injured a 61-year-old Baldwin City man late Saturday night north of Baldwin City, according to an accident report.

According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s office, Claude Chappelle was injured when his southbound Mazda pickup truck struck a ditch at 11:40 p.m. Saturday in the 500 block of County Road 1055, north of Baldwin City.

Chappelle, the driver and only occupant of the Mazda pickup truck, was listed in serious condition Monday at Kansas University Hospital in Kansas City, Kan., a hospital spokesman said. He was flown there via a LifeStar helicopter ambulance from the Vinland airport.

Sgt. Steve Lewis, a sheriff’s spokesman, said a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper went to the hospital to get a blood sample from Chappelle to try to establish his blood-alcohol content.

Lewis said witnesses who stopped to assist Chappelle saw a northbound Cadillac strike the truck near the back bumper because the bed of the truck was in the road after the initial crash.

Witnesses said the driver stopped, assessed the damage to his vehicle and then drive away to the north. Officers have not located the Cadillac or its driver, Lewis said.