A 14-year-old Manhattan boy was seriously hurt in a vehicle crash Friday night on the city’s northern edge, the second such crash involving a group of teens, in less than a week.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says the crash happened around 5:30 p.m., when a sport utility vehicle carrying four teenagers, was struck by a Ford F150, while attempting to turn onto Marlatt Ave. from Seth Child Road. Authorities say the SUV failed to yield, causing the crash.
According to the crash report, 14-year-old Jackson West, a passenger in the SUV was air lifted to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for treatment of a serious injury. Two others from that vehicle were transported to Ascension Via Christi for minor injuries, including the 15-year-old driver Brandon Stroud, of Manhattan, and 15-year-old Arion Blanton, of Manhattan. The fourth occupant, 15-year-old Fabion Clark, of Manhattan, also had a minor injury, but was not transported.
The driver of the pickup, 59-year-old Todd Thaemert, also of Manhattan, was taken to Via Christi for treatment of a minor injury.
The crash report states that all five people involved in Friday’s crash were wearing seat belts.