Alva Review-Courier -

On Sunday night in Kiowa, Kansas, cars are parked along Main Street as the Chief Theater is showing a movie on the north side. Directly across the street to the south is Dovie's Bar with vehicles parked along Main Street.

Kiowa Police Chief Nate Houston said that at approximately 8 p.m. a Nissan passenger car was westbound on Main Street. The driver of that car was Wichita woman Martha Darby, age 62. Witnesses told the chief the Nissan was traveling “well over the 20 mph speed limit and had no lights on.”

Darby's Nissan swerved to the right and struck a parked 1998 Dodge Ram owned by Tyler Ferrell of Kiowa, Kansas, who was at the movie, the chief said. The impact caused the Dodge pickup to spin sideways and slam into a Subaru that belonged to Leslie Curfman of Kiowa, Kansas, who was also at the movie, Chief Houston said.

At that point Darby overcorrected the Nissan and careened across to the south side of the street striking a parked early-2000s model F150 pickup, Houston said. He confirmed that pickup is owned by Jamie Day who is employed at Dovie's.

Chief Houston said the Nissan car was totaled in the accident. All the other vehicles were damaged but drivable, he said and did not offer any damage estimates.

Chief Houston said Darby was reportedly traveling to Alva to visit her son Earl Ball. She was taken by ambulance to the Kiowa District Hospital where she was diagnosed with a broken knee, Houston said. Her son told the chief that the ambulance took Darby on to Wesley Hospital in Wichita, Kansas. The doctors there reportedly told Ball that his mother was believed to be having a heart attack at the time of the accident.

The police chief confirmed that no alcohol or drugs were involved in this accident with Darby.

Besides the KPD, other emergency crews responding included the ambulance service, the Kiowa Fire Department and the Barber County Sheriff's Department.