Emporia Police say the suspect in Thursday hit-and-run crash outside Mary Herbert Education Center has been transferred from Newman Regional Health to a hospital in Wichita.
Police Sgt. Lisa Sage says an officer in the area of Fifth and Sherman shortly after 3 pm when he was stopped by a resident who reported a green car had hit a parked car and left northbound on Sherman. The officer followed and found the car had crashed into a tree near Ninth and Sherman.
The alleged suspect, 27-year-old James Merritt III of Emporia, was taken by ambulance to Newman Regional Health with a broken hip and other injuries. He was later transferred to Wesley Medical Center.
Sage says initial indications of a brief chase were incorrect and the officer simply was in the right place at the right time as the case developed. Formal charges are pending in this case. Police are still investigating the two wrecks.
