Augusta man injured in crash that set car afire

A 22-year-old man from Augusta was injured after a car struck a bridge overpass in east Wichita at around lunchtime on Wednesday, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Trent Appelhans was traveling east on K-96 when his Toyota Camry left the highway at about noon, according to a report filed by the highway patrol. The car traveled for about a quarter-mile before striking the bridge overpass at 13th Street and becoming wedged underneath, Trooper Jason Griner said.

David Warren of Sedan was driving north on K-96 toward Valley Center when he rounded the curve near 13th and spotted the car on fire.

“The fire was getting along pretty good” when he reached the scene, Warren said. Because he had a 10-pound fire extinguisher in the truck, “I knew I had to do something.”

Another bystander had a 1-pound extinguisher. By the time they emptied both, the fire was out.

“There was still fuel and oil leaking out of the car” even after the fire was extinguished, Warren said.

He opened the passenger door, and two others tried to pry open the badly damaged driver’s door in an effort to rescue the man behind the wheel.

“That car was sliding down the hill,” Warren said, so he was positioning the crane on his truck rig to hook it up to the back of the car and hold it steady when law enforcement officers arrived.

Appelhans was taken to Wesley Medical Center, where he is in critical condition.

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 12:18 PM with the headline "Augusta man injured in crash that set car afire."