Two injured after minivan strikes antique Model T

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June 27, 2017 - 12:00 AM

A driver and his passenger aboard a 1926 Model T Ford were hospitalized Monday following a two-vehicle accident east of Iola.
The Allen County Sheriff’s Department reported Charles Redding, 80, was driving his Model T  between Gas and Iola, when the vehicle was struck from behind by a minivan driven by Ashley Cook, 28, Moran.
Sheriff’s Deputy Daren Kellerman said Cook was briefly distracted by her 3-year-old son, who was in a child safety seat in the back.
“She said she looked back for maybe 2 seconds, then looked back up and saw the Model T,” Kellerman said.
Redding was part of a caravan of antique Model T’s.
Cook slammed on her brakes, but could not avoid striking Redding’s vehicle, sending the Model T into a skid and popping open the passenger door.
Karen Redding, 71, tumbled out the open door while the Model T was skidding, and landed on the highway. Kellerman noted cars that old were not equipped with seat belts.
“We were expecting the worst” when being called to the scene of a wreck in which a passenger was ejected, Kellerman said.
However, emergency crews arrived to find Karen Redding scraped and bruised, but conscious and alert.
Charles Redding was treated for injuries to his ribs, Kellerman said.
Both were held overnight at Allen County Regional Hospital.
Cook was uninjured, as was her son.

KELLERMAN said he was uncertain if the damage each vehicle sustained was a testament to their design, but the minivan’s bashed-in front end rendered it undriveable.
The Model T, conversely, was driven away from the scene, the only outward appearance of damage a spare tire bracket bent forward on the back.
The Reddings, Waverly, are members of the East Central Kansas T’s, a group of Model T aficionados.

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