Bicyclist, 16, in fair condition after being hit, dragged by utility truck in El Dorado

Correction: John Sheldahl's name was misspelled on a KHP report.

A 16-year-old bicyclist was in fair condition late Wednesday evening at Wesley Medical Center after a large utility truck reportedly struck and dragged him in El Dorado, a Butler County dispatcher said.

The call came in around 1:24 p.m. about the accident near Haverhill and Central in El Dorado, the dispatcher said.

The bicyclist was identified as John Sheldahl of El Dorado. Sheldahl was on the sidewalk on Central and rode into the path of the truck, according to the crash log. He was transported to Wesley in critical condition.

The Kansas Highway Patrol worked the accident, and according to a crash log, the 29-year-old Andover driver of the 2000 Freightliner was not injured.

El Dorado police officers blocked off the intersection for most of the afternoon, Lt. Dan Jones said.

The intersection of Haverhill and Central is one of the busiest in town; “it’s in the top two,” Jones said.

“We do have quite a bit of bicycle traffic,” Jones said. “We encourage it, with our paths and trails. I think he may have been crossing the street, but we weren’t able to talk to the bicyclist at all.”

Jones said the truck, which had some sort of cherry-picker on it, was making a right turn onto West Central from North Haverhill when the crash happened.

This story was originally published July 2, 2014 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Bicyclist, 16, in fair condition after being hit, dragged by utility truck in El Dorado."