WORDEN — The Kansas Highway Patrol said an Overbrook woman fell asleep at the wheel, leading to a crash that killed her passenger in a head-on crash on U.S. 56 near Worden the afternoon of Jan. 3. The Lawrence Journal-World reported that Joann O’Brien, 76, told troopers that she fell asleep and her mini-van drifted across the center-line and hit a pickup driven by Darren Othick, 42, Baldwin City. The head-on crash killed 47-year-old Jamie Ullery and injured five others, including O’Brien and Othick. Master Trooper Scott White said that just before the crash, a passenger yelled at O’Brien, who slammed on the brakes but was too late. O’Brien and her other passenger, Alice Jean Beatty, 51, Independence, Mo.; and Othick’s children, Caleb, 12, and Kara, 10; were hospitalized. Darren Othick was treated on an outpatient basis. White told the paper that the report will be forwarded to the Douglas County district attorney.
Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2 p.m.
