Four teenagers were taken to area hospitals after a single-car accident Thursday night. Douglas County Sherrif’s Office Sgt. Steve Lewis said the accident occurred about 7 p.m. near the 1500 block of North 1000 Road, also called County Road 458, east of Wells Park. Kathryn Norris, 16, was driving a 2000 Toyota Sienna with six other teenagers in the car when it overturned into the south ditch of the road.
Kayla Goldman, 15, and Cloe Hayes, 16, were taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital by ground ambulance. Luke Oberrieder, 16, was taken to Overland Park Regional. Emily Robertson, 16, was later taken by her parents to LMH.
The driver has not been cited but officers believed contributing factors to the accident included distractions in the car, Lewis said.
Comments
Renaissance 1 year ago
7 people in a Toyota Sienna? At least Lawrence teens buy into the concept of carpooling to save gas/reduce emissions.
tomatogrower 1 year ago
They weren't carpooling. They were out having fun together.
vertigo 1 year ago
The Toyota Sienna is a mini-van. It seats 7 comfortably.
meggers 1 year ago
What is Wells Park? Wells Overlook Park?
Hope all of the kids recover okay.
OldEnuf2BYurDad 1 year ago
Seven teenage girls in a car means no one is paying attention to the road.
Seven teenage boys in a car means no one is paying attention to the speedometer.
Parents: For every teen you add to a car (without any adults present), you are probably doubling the likelyhood of an accident. Yes, this includes your "good" kids with good grades, too.
otto 1 year ago
Wells overlook park is a county owned ( I think) park just east of 59 hwy on north 1000 rd. It is your typical outdoor area for a park plus a large overlook tower that you can climb and look out over the Wakarusa River valley.
somedude20 1 year ago
Schools out for summer....drive cautiously
gccs14r 1 year ago
I thought under-18 drivers had some restrictions on number of unrelated passengers and hours of operation.
mom_of_three 1 year ago
yeah, i think they do.
chemgem 1 year ago
I know these kids, and they are indeed good kids. That has no bearing on the issue of a car accident. As a parent of teenagers, things happen and it's evidenced by the stories we all read every year about things just like this.
acg 1 year ago
Hope everyone is okay. In a few years my oldest will be able to drive. I shudder at the thought of him being in control of 3000 lbs of death machine.
bornon7 1 year ago
I think gccs14r might be right. Don't you have to be 17 now to drive legally?! I think that law is about a year old....anyone know?
poppylust 1 year ago
No. Katie [the driver] is fully licensed. You can get your license when you are 16 if you are at a certain cut off.
ILoveLawrence 1 year ago
These are indeed good kids - I know the driver and both her parents. Accidents happen and I am glad there were no worse injuries. As far as driving age, if a driver turned 16 prior to December of 2011, they are grandfathered in under the old legal driving age rules. The driver in this case falls under these rules, not the new ones.
sunny 1 year ago
Good kids? How good do you think they'd be if the driver would have killed a family or killed one of the passengers? Being a good kid has nothing to do with it!
It's just plain stupid to allow a bunch of 'kids' to be in a vehicle with no adult supervision!
Liberal 1 year ago
And how do you know Sunny what kids are doing at all times,as a parent? Did your parents know what you were doing every minute of the day? I kind of doubt it. I know mine never new what I was up to once I left the house.
So stop with the judging....
lmo39 1 year ago
So are you saying that EVERY time you rode with friends when you were a teenager, that you had an adult in the car as well?
blindrabbit 1 year ago
More proof that 16 year olds are the most likely age to have accidents of this type. Can only imagine the horseplay and grab arse that was going on prior to the accident! Maybe it was fortunate that the car was jammed full (with 7 occupants) less space for passengers to be thrown around; fortunately, it sounds like no one was ejected!
vertigo 1 year ago
The Toyota Sienna is a mini-van. It seats 7 comfortably.
ECM 1 year ago
More proof there are morons on this board that don't know how to read.
sunny 1 year ago
I would never let a 16 year old pack a vehicle with other children. Yes I certainly would know who and how many were in my 16 year olds car.
lmo39 1 year ago
And you would be sitting there supervising them every time wouldn't you?
imastinker 1 year ago
My folks took the radio out of the car and didn't allow me to have friends in the car. Of course I did it anyway, but got cought about 1/3 of the time and didn't break the rule too often because driving priveliges got suspended. My first speeding ticket was a month with no car too.
I remember it really sucking at the time but I had no accidents.
torid 1 year ago
Accidents happen to everyone, including skilled drivers. It's not exactly fair to assume that because the driver is 16 she's an irresponsible driver.
It's also ridiculous to believe that girls pay less attention than boys do while driving. Attention paid doesn't vary based on sex; it varies based on each individual.
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