Richard Sigg, 59, Carlyle, died in a traffic accident three miles south of Girard Saturday afternoon.
Iolans Raymond Sutterby, 62, and David Redfern, 66, were passengers in Sigg’s vehicle, and suffered serious injuries.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Sigg was westbound on a county road and drove onto K-7, a secondary route from Girard to Pittsburg and towns to the south, when his 1963 Studebaker collided with a Dodge Dakota pickup truck driven by Shawn Adam Garbin, 39, Girard.
Redfern was flown by helicopter from the accident scene to Freeman Hospital in Joplin. Sutterby and Garbin were taken by ambulance to Via Christi Hospital, Pittsburg. Sutterby then was transferred to Freeman.
According to Dayton Sutterby, Raymond, his father, suffered broken ribs and a fractured vertebrae in his neck, which has him wearing a stabilizing collar.
“He has a lot of cuts and abrasions and is being sedated to regulate pain, but he isn’t on a ventilator,” Dayton said. “His breathing is a little labored, but he is breathing on his own.”
Redfern has been in intensive care since his arrival at Freeman, but was expected to be moved to regular care today, Dayton said.
“His injuries are mainly to the left side of his face and he has a lot of bruises,” Dayton reported. “David was on a ventilator but was taken off Sunday.”
Sutterby and Redfern were thrown from the 1963 Studebaker, built before seatbelts were a standard in vehicles.
The three men had spent earlier hours Saturday at a car show and races at the Mo-Kan Dragway north of Joplin. Dayton was with them there, but had ridden his motorcycle and was on his way back to Iola when the accident occurred.
“They went to Baxter Springs for the opening of a motorcycle shop, probably had hot-dogs for lunch, before heading home,” Dayton said.
He speculated that they were driving on K-7 and saw a “car, truck or tractor that they wanted to look at,” which prompted a side trip and led to them returning to the state highway by way of a gravel road just before the accident occurred.
Funeral services for Richard Sigg are pending at Waugh-Yokum & Friskel Memorial Chapel, Iola, and will be announced in Tuesday’s Register.
One dead, two injured in crash
