Rollover victim airlifted from site of accident

McCOOK, Nebraska -- A 56-year-old rural McCook, Nebraska, woman was flown by helicopter from the site of a one-vehicle roll-over accident in Frontier County early Friday afternoon.

Phyllis Wallen was trapped inside her Chevy Tracker, which was discovered by passersby at 1:19 p.m. after it rolled out of a curve on a country road about one mile north of the St. Ann Catholic Church, on Road 379, and dropped down a six-foot embankment.

Frontier County Sheriff Dan Rupp said it didn't appear that Wallen was driving very fast, that it was a low-speed rollover, but the Tracker dropped six feet off the road. Rupp said his investigation indicates that alcohol may have been a factor in the accident.

Sheriff Rupp said passersby found the accident. They opened one door just enough to get a blanket over the driver and keep her warm, he said. "They didn't try to move her, which was important," he said. "They took real good care of her until we all got there."

Wallen was the lone occupant of the SUV.

Ambulances from Maywood and McCook responded to the accident, and responders used Jaws of Life from Curtis to cut Wallen from the vehicle.

Midwest MedAir-1 of North Platte was dispatched to the scene at approximately 2:05 p.m., and Wallen was transported to Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte. Wallen was not listed this morning as a patient at the hospital.

Evon Koeppen of Midwest Medical Transport Co., Lincoln, wrote in an email to the McCook Gazette late Friday afternoon that MedAir's on-scene time was approximately eight minutes. In the email, Koeppen praised McCook fire and rescue crews, saying they are "very skilled in extrication."

Wallen's vehicle was totaled.

Rupp's investigation continues. He was assisted on the scene by the Nebraska State Patrol.