Manhattan graduate in critical condition following Greenwood County accident

Angie Moss, Print Editor-in-Chief

An accident at U400 near the 333 Mile Marker landed a Manhattan High graduate, Elaine Snowden, in critical condition at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan. around 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Snowden was an occupant in a 2013 Lincoln MKX heading westbound with three others when the driver, 72-year-old Arden Lee White, drifted left of center, colliding head-on into a 2004 Ford Ranger going eastbound. The Lincoln then caught fire and both vehicles came to rest in their respectable lanes. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, it is still unknown what caused the Lincoln to drift into the eastbound lane.

The accident resulted in four fatalities: White and 68-year-old Sheryl Elaine White, both residents of Oklahoma City, Okla., were in the Lincoln and 49-year-old Stewart Bell and 46-year-old Ann Marie Bell of Moline, Kan., were occupants in the Ranger.

The only other survivor is 18-year-old Julia Smith of Moore, Okla., who was also in the Lincoln.

The families of the two teenagers have declined to release any details about the girls’ injuries.