Operation100news: Police: Speed and alcohol contributing factors to Pflumm Road crash

Posted: February 16, 2016 - 3:21am

Updated: March 10, 2016 - 12:37pm

Shawnee firefighters extricate a woman trapped in the car
Mike Frizzell - Operation 100 News photo
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Additional photos below report.

Update:

Shawnee Police have determined the, 21-year-old, Olathe woman who was injured in a February 16 crash at 63rd Street and Pflumm Road was driving nearly 80 m.p.h. when she lost control and crashed. The posted speed limit on that stretch of Pflumm Road is only 30 m.p.h.The police department's accident narrative says, "Vehicle 1 was determined to be going 78 m.p.h.," in the left lane of southbound Pflumm, when the car struck the center median at 62nd Terrace and began sliding sideways.

"Vehicle 1 continued sliding southbound in the inside [left] lane of travel and then into the outside [right] lane of travel," the report says. "Vehicle 1 then left the roadway at 63rd Street and Pflumm, where Vehicle 1 first struck a fire hydrant, then a city light pole, and a wooden utility pole."

The impact with the fire hydrant is believed to be when the 2002 Chevrolet Malibu rolled over, trapping the driver inside.

Shawnee firefighters worked for more than an hour to extricate the injured woman from the overturned car.

Johnson County Med-Act Public Information Officer Angela Fera confirms the woman was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center in critical condition.

The police department's accident report shows that a preliminary impairment test determined the driver's blood alcohol content to be 0.11. The legal limit in Kansas is 0.08.

Major Dan Tennis of the Shawnee Police Department says the woman has been released from the hospital, but he was not able to say when.

"The driver was issued citations through Shawnee Municipal Court, for DUI, Speeding, and Reckless driving," Tennis said. "The driver should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in court."

The accident report also states that the roads were dry when the crash occurred. It started raining shortly after the emergency crews arrived at the scene.

Operation 100 News has chosen to withhold the woman's name until after she appears in court.

Original report:

-Video not for broadcast-

An Olathe woman was critically injured in a single car crash at 63rd Street and Pflumm Road early Tuesday morning.

Shawnee Police, Fire, and Johnson County Med-Act were called to the intersection around 12:50 a.m. on a report of a car on its roof.

Firefighters worked for just over an hour to safely extricate a woman from the overturned car.

Johnson County Med-Act Public Information Officer Angela Fera says one woman was transported from the scene in critical condition.

Major Dan Tennis of the Shawnee Police Department said the woman is from Olathe and is expected to live. Tennis said she was not seriously injured.

The crash damaged a fire hydrant, throwing it approximately 75 feet from its base. A street light pole was also knocked over in the crash and a low hanging utility line was damaged.

Maj. Tennis said alcohol and the speed the woman was driving were contributing factors to the crash.

The Shawnee Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit continues to investigate.

Shawnee firefighters work to extricate the trapped driver from the overturned car as water spews from where the fire hydrant was sheared off by the impact.

Response vehicle belonging to Johnson County's Medical Director

Firefighters work from all sides of the car to remove the injured woman safely

A firefighter puts away tools in the back of the department's heavy rescue

Firefighters survey the damage after the woman was transported away from the scene by Med-Act

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