Two-vehicle crash north of G.C. leaves three dead
10/29/2012
By RACHAEL GRAY and ADAM HOLT
Telegram staff writers
A Garden City Community College student-athlete and two Scott City women were killed late Friday night in a two-vehicle accident in Finney County between Garden City and Scott City.
Phillip Cook, 21, a member of the GCCC baseball team from Littlefield, Texas, was driving a 2008 Honda CRV at 9:19 p.m. Friday south on U.S. Highway 83 about 5.5 miles north of the U.S. Highway 50/83 junction when he went left of center and struck a northbound 1999 Lincoln Town Car driven by Doris Reed, 81, Scott City, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.
The Honda CRV rolled once and came to rest on its wheels facing west. The Lincoln continued in a northeast direction and came to rest in the east ditch facing west, according to the KHP.
Cook was taken to St. Catherine Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was wearing a seat belt.
Reed was taken to St. Catherine, where she was pronounced dead. She was wearing a seat belt.
A passenger of the Lincoln, Leta Weems, 68, Scott City, also was taken to St. Catherine, where she was pronounced dead. She was not wearing a seat belt.
Alice Odea, 73, Scott City, was taken to St. Catherine and was listed in fair condition on Sunday. She was wearing a seat belt.
GCCC officials said a prayer for the victims of the crash at Saturday night's GCCC-Coffeyville football game.
Herbert Swender, GCCC president, offered his condolences to the families of the victims.
"It affects not only his family, the college, but it affects the community, too. It was a terrible loss, and certainly our friends to the north in Scott City, they experienced a terrible loss, as well," Swender said.
Swender said college officials have been in contact with the Cook family.
"We're in conversations with the family. We have offered the facilities of the college. If they want to have any kind of service, we'll be more than happy to be a part of that, to share our facilities with them. We're just at the point of finding out what the family would like to do," he said.
A funeral for Reed will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Community Christian Church in Scott City. Reed had been a Scott City resident since 1934, working for Wheatland Electric in Scott City before her retirement in 1996.
A funeral service for Weems will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at the First Baptist Church in Scott City. She worked in pharmaceutical delivery and was a lifetime Scott City resident.