Alva Review-Courier -

Describing a wreck that took the life of Attica, Kansas, teen Gracie Burenheide, Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Mark Crump said sadly, “It was no one's fault. There was no violation of the law. It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The accident happened 11 miles north of Medicine Lodge (and US-160) at 6:06 p.m., last Thursday, Nov. 23, on US-281.

Burenheide, age 19, was driving a 2007 Chevy Malibu northbound on US-281. At the same time a 2013 Ford Explorer was southbound on US-281, driven by Calvin Boyd, age 64, of Medicine Lodge.

Trooper Crump said that from the west ditch a deer entered the path of the Explorer that struck the deer, causing it to go airborne. The deer flew into the windshield of Burenheide's car and continued through the back glass, the trooper said. The car went into the northbound ditch before coming to rest facing northwest, the trooper said. The Explorer came to rest along the southbound shoulder of US-281.

Myrna Altha, age 22, of Medicine Lodge was a passenger with Burenheide. She was injured and taken to the Medicine Lodge Memorial Hospital, according to the trooper. Hospital Administrator Kevin White confirmed Tuesday that Altha was treated and released.

Carla Boyd, age 60 of Medicine Lodge, was a passenger in the Explorer. Neither she nor her husband was injured. The trooper said until the ambulance came that way the couple didn't even realize another car was involved, as it was dark.

All four people involved in the accident were wearing seatbelts, according to the trooper. Besides the KHP, others responding to the accident scene included the Barber County Sheriff's Office, EMS and fire departments.