Missouri man injured in Saturday rollover on U.S. 54 at state line

A Vernon County man is in serious condition after a truck he was driving rolled over several times Saturday on U.S. Highway 54 near the Vernon and Bourbon county line.

Shortly after 6:30 p.m., authorities responded to the intersection of 255th Street and U.S. Highway 54 about one and one-half miles from the state line.

Thomas J. Heffernan, 47, was driving west on U.S. 54 when he approached a vehicle that was slowing down to turn south on 255th Street, Bourbon County Undersheriff Ron Gray said. Heffernan was driving a white 2007 Chevrolet Silverado at a high rate of speed when he approached the turning vehicle, a 1992 Chevrolet Blazer occupied by Bobbie Sroud, 29; her husband Travis Sroud, 28; and their 4-year-old daughter, Kateline. They were uninjured.

Gray, who responded to the accident, said Heffernan swerved to avoid striking Sroud's vehicle, but when he swerved to the left, his truck exited the highway and started to slide across 255th. The truck entered a ditch at the southwest corner of the intersection, then struck a mound of dirt near the roadway, causing it to flip and roll numerous times.

Heffernan was partially ejected, with his body hanging out of the passenger side window. He was unconscious and suffered multiple undetermined injuries, Gray said. Heffernan was not wearing a seat belt.

Rescue workers rushed him to Mercy Health Center and he was later transported by medical helicopter to University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City. As of Monday, he was in stable but critical condition.

The accident on Saturday was the second serious crash Heffernan has been involved in within the last three months. On Nov. 24, Heffernan's Harley-Davidson motorcycle slammed into the left side of a trailer hauled by a sport utility vehicle traveling north on U.S. Highway 69, according to Kansas Highway Patrol. Emergency workers landed a medical helicopter in the middle of the highway, then flew him to St. John's Regional Medical Center.