DEXTER, Kansas – A motorcycle accident has left one airman dead and two others in critical condition. Now officials say wind may be to blame. It happened just south of the small town of Dexter Sunday.
In the small town of Dexter, residents know to take the curve on Crouse Creek Rd. carefully.
But on Sunday, three airmen from McConnell Air Force Base were out for an afternoon motorcycle ride and probably weren’t familiar with the narrow, S-curve that has been the cause of numerous accidents in the past.
“As they come from the south and entered the curve turning back toward the east, they had all three gone off the north side of the road and ended up in this ditch,” aid Undersheriff Bill Mueller with the Cowley County Sheriff’s Department.
Tech Sgt. Harold Young, 30, was pronounced dead on the scene. Jeremy Richardson, 22, and 38-year-old Walter Hall were airlifted to Wesley Medical Center where they remain in critical condition.
The curve is notorious for being very dangerous But police say intense wind gusts may have turned a preventable accident, into a fatal one.
“They had somewhat of a tailwind initially and then as they turned back to east they had a crosswind and I think that crosswind contributed at least to pushing them off the north side of the road and into the ditch,” said Mueller.
Monday, fellow airmen conducted a routine investigation of the site, hoping to find ways to protect members and prevent accidents like it in the future. But like accidents, weather can be unpredictable and ultimately tragic.
