OTTAWA — Two accidents at different locations sent three people to the hospital Monday night, two with critical injuries. The first accident was a motorcycle/deer accident, which occurred just west of the K-68/K-33 intersection. A Pleasant Hill, Mo., couple were riding a motorcycle east bound when they collided with the deer. The driver, Russell Pine, 57, was sent to the KU Medical Center by helicopter ambulance directly from the accident scene with critical injuries. Marcia Pine, 50, who was a passenger on the motorcycle, was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center by ground ambulance with non-life threatening injuries, the Franklin County Sheriff’s office said.. According to scanner traffic, she suffered from multiple fractures on her leg. Shortly after the accident between the motorcycle and the deer, a car driven by a Paola man came upon the accident scene and struck the motorcycle, which was blocking the roadway. Neither the driver nor the passenger were injured. West-bound traffic on K-68 was diverted north onto K-33 and east bound traffic diverted south onto Vermont Road for about an hour and 20 minutes. The highway reopened to one lane a little after 10 p.m. The Franklin County Accident Reconstruction Squad was asked to help in the investigation. About the same time as the accident on K-68, another unrelated accident occurred on I-35 in the northbound lane near the K-68 interchange. As the vehicle was heading north on the interstate, a man who was a passenger in the vehicle opened the door and jumped out, landing on the highway. He suffered life-threatening injuries and was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center by helicopter. The driver of that vehicle, Curtis Liggins, 23, Kansas City, Mo., was not injured. He said he knew the other man only as “Joseph,” the sheriff’s office said. Sheriff Jeff Curry said investigators don’t know why the man jumped out of the moving vehicle.
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 1 a.m.; updated, 1 p.m.
