DOUGLAS COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Douglas County are investigating a pedestrian accident that sent a woman to the hospital.

Just before 8a.m. Wednesday, police were dispatched to the 1800 Block of Louisiana Street in Lawrence for report of a woman hit by a truck, according to a media release.

The 22-year-old victim was flown to a regional trauma center for treatment of serious injuries, according to police.

The investigation indicates a 20-year-old female driver was southbound on Louisiana Street and hit the woman who was crossing westbound.

Alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor, according to police.

SEDGWICK COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating a sexual assault and are asking the public for help to identify the suspect.

Just before 3 a.m. Sunday, a suspect entered an apartment in the 1400 Block of North Smith Court in Wichita, according to Sgt. Nikki Woodrow during Tuesday’s police briefing.

After entering the residence, the suspect sexually assaulted a 7-year-old girl and left. An adult in the residence heard the child crying, learned what happened and called 911.

The suspect is described as an unknown white male, clean shaven, light colored hair, jeans and an unknown shirt.

The child remains hospitalized.

Anyone who observed someone loitering, acting suspiciously in the area or who has direct information about the case is asked to call police.

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Police are looking for a driver who escaped from a car before a deadly train crash in Wichita.

Police spokesperson Sgt. Nikki Woodrow says the collision happened Sunday night when the vehicle left a road and became stuck on the railroad tracks.

The driver was able to get out of the car as a BNSF train approached, but a 40-year-old passenger identified as Deandre Parker, 40, Wichita, was killed in the crash.

Woodrow says the driver left the scene and that police are trying to identify him. Anyone with information is urged to call authorities.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police are looking for a driver who escaped from a car before a deadly train crash in Wichita.

Police spokesperson Sgt. Nikki Woodrow says the collision happened Sunday night when the vehicle left a road and became stuck on the railroad tracks. The driver was able to get out of the car as a BNSF train approached, but a 40-year-old passenger was killed in the crash.

Woodrow says the driver left the scene and that police are trying to identify him. Anyone with information is urged to call authorities.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 70-year-old man who said he robbed a Kansas City, Kansas, bank so he could get away from his wife blamed his actions on depression.

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Lawrence John Ripple to probation.

Ripple went to the Bank of Labor — a block from the Kansas City, Kansas, police headquarters — last September and gave a note to a teller saying he had a gun and demanding money. After he was given money, Ripple waited for police.

Court records indicate Ripple wrote the robbery note in front of his wife and told her he would rather be in jail than at home.

The Kansas City Star reports (https://bit.ly/2sy6BIk ) Ripple told the judge Tuesday that heart surgery left him depressed and unlike himself before he robbed the bank.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man who texted a photo of his dead girlfriend to his family has been sentenced to life in prison for killing her.

Forty-two-year-old Jonathan Perret won’t be eligible for parole for 25 years under the sentence imposed Tuesday. He pleaded guilty last month to felony murder for fatally shooting 42-year-old Melissa Englert while she checked on her parents’ house. They were out of town.

Messages sent to his son’s phone included a photo of a gun and a person lying on the ground. Perret called her a banshee in one message and said someone needed to shoot her, adding that “I did love her though!!!”

Perret told investigators that Englert asked to be shot after a night of drinking. Police said the couple had a history of domestic violence.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas is devoting a residence hall wing to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their supporters.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Student Housing director Diana Robertson says more than 20 students have signed up to live in the “gender inclusive housing” in Lewis Hall for the upcoming school year. Robertson says a small waiting list for the wing indicates “we’re hitting a need.”

Besides catering to LGBT students, the wing also will house students who don’t identify exclusively as male or female, as well as those questioning their sexual identity.

Roommates will be assigned regardless of sex, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation. In the past, university housing officials worked on a case-by-case basis to place students who didn’t fit traditional gender profiles.

 

 

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Court records say an investigation into a former Kansas police sergeant who’s charged with sex crimes began when his wife reported concerns about him texting teenage girls.

The affidavit for Valley Center police Sgt. Thomas Delgado was released Monday. The 49-year-old is facing charges of sexual exploitation of a child, sexual battery, attempted sexual battery, official misconduct and three counts of harassment by telecommunications device.

The affidavit says his wife contacted a sheriff’s lieutenant in November, the same month she filed for divorce. She reported that Delgado was “constantly” texting 14-to 17-year-old girls. She also said she “believes he gets their information from responding to 911 calls involving girls.”

Delgado resigned after his December arrest. He was previously a Sedgwick County sheriff’s patrol deputy.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials say the troubling rise in traffic fatalities across the state is accelerating.

AAA spokeswoman Jennifer Haugh says that Kansas is currently averaging more than one traffic fatality a day.

Data from AAA shows that there have been nearly 175 traffic deaths across the state this year through the end of May. That’s a 13 percent increase over the same time frame a year ago and a 44 percent increase from 2015.

Haugh says cheaper gas prices usually result in people driving more miles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they drive safer. She says not wearing seatbelts and having short attention spans can contribute to the fatality increase.

AAA reports that there were more than 430 traffic deaths in Kansas for all of 2016.

ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) — A nonprofit organization that purchased the last known airplane identical to the one Amelia Earhart flew has announced plans for a new airport facility that will serve as a museum to showcase the plane and as a terminal for airport traffic.

The Atchison Amelia Earhart Foundation is finalizing renderings of the $10 million Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, developing a branding campaign and beginning a fundraising effort.

The historic plane known as Muriel will be the museum’s focal point. Muriel is an Electra Model 10E, which is the same model flown by aviator Earhart in her attempt to circle the globe. Muriel is the last surviving model of the 14 manufactured.

Foundation Chairwoman Karen Seaberg hopes the project will be completed within two years.

HOYT, Kan. (AP) — Funeral services are scheduled for a Kansas man killed in a tractor accident in eastern Kansas.

Ethan Everts, 43, Hoyt, was operating a tractor when it rolled over him around 5 p.m. Sunday in Jackson County, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

Everts was pronounced dead at the scene.