CARBONDALE — Five Melvern residents, including two teenagers and two younger children, were hospitalized after a crash near Carbondale late Friday night.
The Kansas Highway Patrol says a pickup driven by 56-year-old Harry Balazs was southbound on US Highway 75 about four miles south of Carbondale when the wreck happened shortly after 11 pm. Balazs apparently braked hard for unlisted reasons, but that action caused an attached trailer to jackknife and pull the truck off the highway. The pickup overturned as a result.
Balazs was taken to Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka for treatment, as were:
*Aiden Balazs, 15
*Eian Balazs, 12
*Aubrey South, 9
*Leia Martin, 6
Hospital staff say they have no information on anybody involved in the crash.
The Highway Patrol says all were restrained, although South was only using a lap belt and Martin was using a shoulder and lap belt instead of an approved car seat. State law says children between ages 4 and 8 need to be in a booster seat unless they are taller than 4-foot-9, weigh more than 80 pounds and are in a vehicle where a lap belt is the only option. Children between 8 and 14 need to use a seatbelt.
