A Buchanan County sheriff’s deputy gravely injured in a traffic crash last weekend was not wearing a seatbelt. The car driven by deputy Charles Cook went out of control when he crested a small hill and found a truck turning in front of him. The car hit a utility pole and the concrete base of a traffic control box.
Cook remains in critical condition at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He has undergone surgical procedures and is being treated for multiple injuries. The sheriff says Cook might no recover. Cook wrecked his patrol car in the early hours of Saturday morning while pursuing a motorcyclist who had been riding erratically on a major commercial street in St. Joseph. A police spokesman says Cook had attempted to avoid the path of a tractor-trailer when he crashed.
Cook had to be extricated from the vehicle by St. Joseph firefighters. Cook’s legs were pinned under the dashboard.
