If the skies ahead are looking dangerous as you’re driving down the road, don’t count on law enforcement officers to pull you over and warn you that there’s a tornado coming. They may be too busy with more pressing duties to chase down motorists who are heading into potentially dangerous weather conditions.
I don’t think there is a policy on that,” said Lt. Annette Haga of the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s going to depend what the situation is and what else is going on.”
Two vehicles were hit by a large tornado west of Cunningham the night of May 23; two brothers in a pickup survived, but a Colorado couple in a car was killed.
There is only one Kansas Highway Patrol trooper for every 4,300 residents of the state, Trooper Edna Buttler said, so they’re not always able to respond quickly to threats at a given location.
“If we’re aware of it and have the manpower, normally we do a pretty good job, I would say,” Buttler said.
For more on how drivers can protect themselves during threatening weather, see Sunday’s Eagle.