Speed likely culprit in crash that killed teen
Staff writer
Speed likely contributed to a fatality wreck Saturday when a 1991 Chevrolet Silverado veered off a dirt road after a low-water crossing, entered a field, and overturned three times on the east side of Jade Rd. north of 170th Rd.
Both the driver and passenger, neither of whom was wearing a seatbelt, were thrown out of the pickup.
Driver Sutton M. Redger, 16, Hillsboro, was dead at the scene.
Passenger Sean D. Mader, 16, Hillsboro, was seriously injured. He was taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita by Marion ambulance after three attempts to get an air ambulance resulted in only one that would not have been there for an hour.
Hillsboro fire chief Ben Steketee drove the ambulance to Wesley so both attendants could take care of Mader.
Hillsboro ambulance remained at the scene until a coroner arrived.
Although dispatchers were called about the accident at 6:35 p.m., KHP’s accident report says the wreck happened at 5 p.m.
Resource Trooper Ben Gardner said Marion County deputies contacted KHP 6:52 p.m.
Troopers will use several methods to try to pin down the time of the wreck. The time listed on the online report might be just a “placeholder,” he said.
Gardner said there was no estimate yet of what speed the pickup was traveling when the accident happened. That also remains under investigation.
A warning sign just north of the low-water crossing advises drivers to go 20 mph through a dip in the roadway. The road jogs west just after the crossing. The pickup left the road to the east.
Redger was a member of Hillsboro High School’s football and wrestling teams.
Mader’s brother, Seth, died, also at age 16, in a November, 2022, ATV accident at Marion County Lake.
Deputies, Hillsboro firefighters, and Hillsboro and Marion ambulances were dispatched.
Tampa ambulance stood by in Hillsboro in case additional calls were received.