Kansas fifth-grader dies in school SUV rollover accident, trooper says

A Kansas fifth-grader died in a rollover accident while being taken to school in a district SUV on Friday morning in Jewell County, according to Kansas Highway Patrol trooper Ben Gardner.

Four other students and the driver were all OK, Gardner said, but were taken to the Jewell County Hospital in Mankato as a precaution.

The accident happened at around 7:30 a.m. while the driver was headed north on 250th at O Road, which is out in the county. The driver of the Rock Hills Schools USD 107 SUV was either taking the students to a bus to go to school or taking them directly to school, Gardner said.

The SUV was the only vehicle involved in the accident. The cause is under investigation, he said.

Gardner said the death will have a big ripple effect in the small district, which has roughly 400 students.

“It’s a difficult, challenging morning,” he said. “It always is with (fatal accidents) but it seems like it’s more so challenging and difficult when it involves a student or a child … the family members, first responders, the school district staff, students, the community. There’s just a lot of people that have ripple effects of how difficult this is.”