Local man survives wreck

Bourbon County first responders treat Ben Culbertson Monday at the scene of a single vehicle accident on Kansas Highway 7.

An elderly Bourbon County man survived a horrific wreck Monday as his dump truck struck an embankment on Kansas Highway 7.

Ben Culbertson was driving north on K7 about 1 1/2 miles from U.S. Highway 54 when the truck's left front tire blew out before he reached the Mill Creek bridge. Culbertson lost control of the truck and slammed into a steep embankment on the left side of the road.

Tom Karleskint, who lives a short distance from the accident, went to the scene. He heard Culbertson calling for help. He was trapped in the cab, which had been reduced to a twisted ball of metal and glass, and Karleskint helped him get out.

Meanwhile, the engine portion of the truck separated from the cab. It was on fire, and Karleskint said he wanted to get Culbertson out of the cab and away from the flames.

Culbertson suffered multiple abrasions and a possible head injury. However, he never lost consciousness throughout the ordeal.

A Life Flight helicopter from Joplin, Mo., landed in the middle of K7 to transport Culbertson to an undetermined hospital. Although his was not a life-threatening injury, transporting him via helicopter was a precautionary because it involved a possible head injury, said Bourbon County District No.3 Coordinator Delwin Mumbower.

Culbertson was hauling a load of limestone to the Amish community in north Bourbon County.