The Southwest Baptist University track team was involved in an auto accident late on April 16 as they were traveling back from a meet at Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg.
According to highway patrol reports, at 10:20 p.m. Friday, a pickup driven by Douglas Wetzel of Blairstown failed to stop at an intersection and collided with the SBU van driven by coach Mark Misch. Wetzel fled the scene of the accident on foot but was arrested in Kansas City the next day. He was alleged to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident.
The SBU track team was about 10 miles south of Warrensburg when the accident occurred. After the collision, the SBU van rolled several times before it ended up on its side in the ditch.
Most of the SBU students were wearing their seatbelts. The eight SBU students and the coach were taken to several area hospitals. As of Monday, all the students had been released except for Michael Haub, who is expected to be released on Tuesday.
Haub, a junior from Helena, Mont., was airlifted to St. Luke's Medical Center in Kansas City. He was the most severely injured with a crushed ankle and face trauma. He had two operations over the weekend.
Tom Miner, a junior from Bolivar, was also airlifted to St. Luke's with a broken nose and damage to an eye socket. He was released from the hospital on Sunday.
Christine Showler, a senior from Lebanon, was airlifted to Research Medical Center in Kansas City and was released on Saturday.
John Harris, a senior from Mocksville, N.C., was taken by ambulance to Golden Valley Hospital in Clinton. He was released on Friday night.
Four SBU students were taken to Western Missouri Medical Center in Warrensburg with minor injuries and were released Friday night. They were Brandon Sherrer, senior, Pleasant Hope; Erika Anderson, senior, Waynesville; Austin Bunn, junior, Jasper; and Jennifer Trevathan, senior, Chicopee, Mass.
Misch was taken to Golden Valley Hospital but later referred to St. Luke's because of a severely broken arm. He is at home and is expected to have an operation on his arm this week. (4-22-04)
