Wichita man faces prison over fiery truck crash where friend was left to burn alive
A Wichita man who left a friend to die in a fiery crash in a field where he wrecked a relative’s truck while four-wheeling has been sentenced to 10 years and two months in prison, according to Sedgwick County District Court records.
Russeller W. Polk, 46, in June pleaded guilty to a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident and misdemeanor vehicular homicide in the death of 49-year-old Paul J. Myshka of Park City. Polk was sentenced to prison Monday by Judge Kevin O’Connor, who in doing so denied a defense request for probation.
Authorities have said Polk got drunk and drove with Myshka in the passenger seat of a Dodge truck that he took off-roading in a field near 101st North and Ridge, northwest of Valley Center, around 11:30 p.m. on March 31, 2020. According to a probable cause affidavit released by the court, Polk lost control and the truck flipped on its passenger side, immediately catching fire with the men inside.
Polk, in a later law enforcement interview, claimed he tried to free Myshka after he crawled out but then ran away, leaving Myshka behind as the truck became engulfed in flames. According to the affidavit, Polk knew his friend was “burning up,” heard him “dying” and screaming for help, and ignored Myshka’s pleas for him to “come back.”
Polk didn’t call 911 but told his mom and another person he knew about the crash, the affidavit says.
A passerby who noticed the truck on fire in a ditch called 911.
Myshka’s body was burned beyond recognition when he was found, causing a 21-day delay in positively identifying him.
In a news conference after the crash, Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter said the 49-year-old was still alive when Polk ran away from the crash scene. Authorities discovered Myshka’s body in the charred wreckage after fire crews extinguished the blaze. He died from thermal burns and smoke inhalation, according to his autopsy report.
Prosecutors initially charged Polk with involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence and later with second-degree reckless murder but dismissed those counts when he pleaded guilty on June 29, court records show.
