Wichita crash spins SUV into tree, killing 80-year-old woman in Delano, police say

One person has died in a vehicle wreck Monday afternoon in the Delano neighborhood.

A Sedgwick County dispatch supervisor confirmed that emergency crews were called at around 4:17 p.m. to an accident on Maple near Martinson. One patient died at the scene.

Wichita police Lt. Joe Kennedy said a blue Hyundai SUV had turned from Elizabeth into the right lane of the two eastbound lanes on Maple. A tan Mazda car was also eastbound in the same lane.

Past the intersection, the car “came up from behind,” Kennedy said, and the front passenger side collided with the back end of the SUV, “causing it to spin into the tree.”

The driver of the SUV was pinned inside the wreckage. Firefighters freed her and performed first aid, but she was pronounced dead.

An 80-year-old woman was driving the SUV, police said.

Dispatchers said the only reported injury was to the deceased person. Kennedy said the car’s driver was taken to a hospital with possible injuries. The driver was an approximately 30-year-old man. Field sobriety tests were not performed.

The investigation is ongoing. The traffic speed limit is 35 mph in that area. Police said it is unknown whether the car was attempting to pass the SUV.

“We’re trying to get a few more facts, see if there’s any more witnesses out there that saw it, to determine who is going to be at fault,” Kennedy said.

This story was originally published May 31, 2021 at 5:04 PM.