Fredonia, KS (June 12, 2026) – A man from Bartlesville, Oklahoma was seriously hurt Thursday night, June 11, when a U-turn crash involving a car and an ambulance occurred on US-400 at 1600 Rd, about six miles northwest of Fredonia. The accident was reported at 9:37 p.m.
According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a 2025 Chevrolet Trax was traveling westbound on US-400 when it slowed and moved toward the right shoulder. An ambulance traveling behind it moved into the left westbound lane to pass. As the ambulance drew alongside, the Chevrolet made a U-turn, and the ambulance struck the car on the driver’s side door. Both vehicles came to rest facing south in a ditch off the roadway.
The Chevrolet’s driver, Aarom Dewayne McPherson, 46, was taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita with serious injuries. A 3-year-old passenger in the car, Nicolas Levi Moreland of Edna, was reported to have suspected minor injuries but was not taken to a hospital by ambulance. Both were wearing seat belts.
The ambulance driver, Austin Timothy Hill, 32, of Neodesha, was taken to Fredonia Regional Hospital with suspected minor injuries. Hill was alone in the ambulance and was also wearing his seat belt.
Investigators are reviewing the full circumstances of the collision, and additional details may be released as the inquiry develops. We wish McPherson a full recovery and are glad the others involved escaped more serious harm.
What Makes U-Turn Crashes on Highways Particularly Dangerous?
U-turns on high-speed roads like US-400 are among the more unpredictable maneuvers a driver can make, largely because other drivers nearby have little time to react. When a vehicle slows and then reverses direction on a two-lane or multi-lane highway, a following vehicle moving at speed may have only a second or two to respond before contact occurs. The size and weight difference between vehicles, especially when one is a large emergency unit, can make the force of the resulting crash significant.
Kansas, like most states, restricts U-turns in areas where they create a hazard to other traffic. On rural highways where vehicles routinely travel at 65 mph or more, a sudden reversal of direction can be as dangerous as a wrong-way entry. Seat belt use, which all three occupants in this wreck had practiced, is consistently shown to reduce the severity of injuries in broadside and lateral-impact crashes.
