By OLIVIA BERGMEIER
Lead Reporter - Salina Post
Late last night, two Salina residents making their way west to Culver, Kan., realized they were heading the wrong way on North Lightville Road and attempted a three-point turn.
At some point in the turn, the two men in the truck realized the truck became stuck in the ditch, and after attempting to pull the white 2008 2500 Dodge pickup from the ditch, it injured one of the truck's passengers when it rolled over him.
Saline County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Brent Melander said that at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 11, deputies arrived north of the intersection of Lightville and Armstrong Roads and met the two occupants of the pickup, a 36-year-old man and a 42-year-old man.
"While the deputy was there, he was going to, if needed, make arrangements to have the tow truck come out, but the two occupants of the vehicle said they had a friend of theirs' coming out from Salina," Melander said. "So a 53-year-old man arrived shortly after in his 1500 Dodge pickup truck."
Melander said the 53-year-old friend of the 2500 Dodge pickup owner then began attempting to free the vehicle from the ditch, but it only caused the white Dodge to go further into the grass and mud on the side of the dirt road.
Before the three men stopped the attempt to get the pickup unstuck, the 43-year-old man went into the ditch to get a closer look but unknowingly put himself in harm's way.
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"Before they stopped, the 43-year-old white male from the original stuck truck, who was a passenger, originally fell down in the ditch and got run over by the 2500 stuck pickup truck," Melander said. "They decided to stop towing, and the deputy is like 'Well stop you got a guy underneath the truck,' and they're like 'What?' something similar to that. They get out and they find the 43-year-old male climbing out from underneath the stuck pickup truck."
The man was coherent and conversing with the Sheriff's Office deputy alongside the two other men. Still, he quickly began complaining about pain and the deputy called for emergency services to transport him to Salina Regional Health Center.
Melander said EMS ambulance staff recognized some severe injuries, and at the hospital, they found a significant spinal injury and a few more injuries in his shoulders and lower back.
Saline County Sheriff's Office deputies found no evidence of impaired driving or drug use in or around the trucks. Melander said the 43-year-old man will likely undergo surgery due to his injuries.