Happy Tuesday, Shawnee Mission!
☀️ Today’s forecast: Sunny and gradually clearing up all day. High: 52. Low: 32
? One thing to know today
A Lawrence woman injured in a head-on highway collision earlier this month in Johnson County faces a “long recovery,” according to her sister who has started an online fundraiser to help pay for ongoing medical costs.
Sarah Morrison, 32, was driving westbound on Interstate 435 in Lenexa just past midnight on Saturday, March 18, when she was struck by a vehicle going the wrong way.
The force of the impact pushed Morrison’s car across several lanes of the highway and trapped her inside her car, according to her sister Gabriela Bongard.
Morrison was extricated from her vehcile by emergency responders and taken to Overland Park Regional Medical Center, where she had surgery for multiple fractures to her ankle and leg and was also treated for a brain injury and lacerations caused by the seatbelt.
Bongard says Morrison, who is a lawyer, is now in an inpatient rehabilitation facility in Overland Park undergoing physical and occupational therapy, as well as some speech therapy due to the injuries suffered to her brain.
“She has a long recovery ahead of her before she will be independent in her own care and driving again,” Bongard wrote in a GoFundMe aimed at raising money for Morrison’s medical expenses.
The fundraiser has a stated goal of $5,000. As of Tuesday, it had raised $2,000.
Beyond the immediate medical care, Bongard says Morrison won’t be able to walk or drive on her own for at least several months.
“She wakes up each day in disbelief that this has happened to her,” Bongard told the Post.
The driver who was driving the wrong way when he struck Morrison was also hospitalized with serious injuries.
A Kansas Highway Patrol crash report does not indicate if the wrong-way driver was intoxicated or not.
? Public meetings Tuesday
- Johnson County Planning Commission, 5:45 p.m. [View agenda]
- Leawood Planning Commission, 6 p.m. [View agenda]
? Post’s top Monday stories
- JoCo Notes: Overland Park dead body discovery raises questions
- 7 vehicles destroyed by fire in Overland Park apartment carport
- Shawnee Mission adding soccer and football to middle school sports
- What should Overland Park residents do with ash trees in their yards?
- ☕️ 5 to Try: What are the best coffee and tea drinks in JoCo?
? Other local news
- A new county-run hazardous waste collection facility is on track to open off College Boulevard in Overland Park in June, after the current one in Mission closes. [Fox 4]
- Longtime Olathe school board member LeEtta Felter has resigned after 12 years in office and the district is taking applications for her replacement. [Olathe Schools]
- Actor and Shawnee Mission North grad Nathan Darrow, known for his roles on hit shows like “House of Cards” and “Billions,” will return to Kansas City this summer for Music Theater Heritage’s production of “A Chorus Line.” [Kansas City Star]
? Notable tweets
SM South’s Speech and Debate squad putting in the work.
SMS BH wins their octos debate at NDCA Nationals. Next up: Quarterfinals! pic.twitter.com/mHuwRjP8JM
— SMS Speech & Debate (@smsdebate) March 27, 2023
The Kansas City Royals’ opening day on Thursday looking good weather-wise.
Anyone got any big outdoor plans Thursday? We hear it's a big day around the metro.
Just after 3 pm, temperatures should be in the lower 70s, with a good breeze out of the south.
There may be some increasing clouds, but rain should hold off until the evening.
— NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) March 27, 2023
And in case you got smoke in your eyes in Lenexa yesterday, that’s what it was about. (Unless you had another reason, of course.)
Lenexa stormwater crews will be doing prescribed burning in multiple locations across the City today, March 27, as time and conditions allow. pic.twitter.com/jgnNGfTeLo
— City of Lenexa (@cityoflenexa) March 27, 2023
? A thousand words
A young soccer player challenges herself by dribbling over a bumpy pathway at R Park in Roeland Park. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.
