Driver ran stoplight before deadly Kansas crash, police say; three remain hospitalized

Update Tuesday:

Three people remain hospitalized. Michael Barnes, 28; Cassey Dale, 31; and Alisha Dugan, 31; were all taken to Ascension Via Christi St. Francis after Sunday’s wreck.

Dugan of Garden City was listed in fair condition Tuesday morning, according to hospital staff. Barnes and Dale, both of Leoti, were listed in critical and serious conditions.

Original Monday:

Police in a western Kansas town are investigating a deadly crash where one of two drivers allegedly ran a stoplight at an intersection.

Emergency crews were dispatched to an injury accident at the intersection of Mary Street and the highway bypass on Sunday, the Garden City Police Department said in a news release. Officers found a crash involving a 1983 Ford LTD car and a Ford F-150 pickup.

Investigators determined the car was eastbound on Mary Street when the driver allegedly ran the red stoplight at the intersection with the exit ramp of U.S. highways 400, 83 and 50. The truck was southbound on the exit ramp, allegedly had the green light, continued into the intersection and struck the car.

A 20-year-old man driving the pickup was taken to St. Catherine Hospital, where his injuries were treated and he was later released, police said.

One man in the car was taken to the hospital, where he died. He was identified by police as 24-year-old Matthew Rome, of Garden City. Three others in the car were taken to the local hospital before being transferred to a Wichita hospital in critical condition.

Police said the investigation is ongoing, and the department is investigating whether alcohol was involved in the crash. Police ask anyone with information on the incident to call GCPD at 620-276-1300 or Crime Stoppers at 620-275-7807.

This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 1:43 PM.