10/25/13 – 12:20 PM – The Ellis County Sheriff’s Department has provided details on Thursday evening’s motor vehicle accidents that occurred in the 800 block of Canterbury Drive.
Sheriff Harbin told Hays Post that a report of a one vehicle accident came in around 3:27 pm. The driver, 23 year old Caleb Flax, had been southbound on Canterbury Drive.
Harbin said the driver’s statement was that he had swerved and was unable to regain control of the vehicle. He stuck a mailbox, then a 2003 GMC pickup parked in a driveway, and came to rest after colliding with a power pole. The impact broke the power pole, bringing lines down in the area. In total, Flax’s vehicle traveled approximately 528 feet.
Ellis County Rural Fire had to extricate Flax from the vehicle. Flax was taken to Hays Medical Center by Ellis Counyt EMS.
Harbin said that the accident could have been much worse.
“He was lucky two ways: number one was the accident. If there was a passenger in that car there would have been a fatality. The second part is that the power pole came down with the lines. He snapped it in half and it hit the vehicle.”
He added that the accident is still under investigation, including why the driver swerved initially.
The second accident happened when emergency crews were on the scene. In the 900 block of Canterbury, a vehicle facing southbound was stopped waiting to pass by the accident as traffic was limited to one-lane. Harbin said that the driver a second vehicle wasn’t paying attention to the road and rear-ended the first vehicle. He said that the driver of the second vehicle was watching crews work the first accident. There were no injuries from the second accident.
5:15 PM – Midwest Energy has been able to reroute power to all affected residents. Crews will be on site to
repair the damaged equipment Friday morning.
No word yet on the status of the drivers involved in the accidents. We will report the details as them are released.
4:30 PM – Reports are coming in that the 2nd accident involved a person who was watching the first and ran into a power pole. Initial reports are that the driver of the second vehicle was in serious condition and the accident caused power to be lost in the area.
According to Mike Morley, Corporate Communications Manager at Midwest Energy, 726 customers are currently without power as a result of the accident. Crews are currently working to reroute power to the area.
4:06 PM – Officers are clearing the scene to allow for regular traffic flow through the area.
3:50 PM – First responders were able to safely remove the driver of the first vehicle and are transporting him to Hays Medical Center with injuries.
3:44 PM – While personnel were en route to the first accident, a second motor vehicle accident was reported in the same area. Additional crews have been dispatched to the area.
3:30 PM – Emergency crews were dispatched to a motor vehicle accident in the 800 block of Canterbury Drive. Initial reports were that a man was trapped inside of a vehicle. The man was listed as responsive and talking. It was also reported that a great deal of smoke was coming from the area. Stay tuned to Hays Post 
and Eagle radio for updates on both accidents as they are made available.