HCC gets new sign after wreck

By James Teeter

It was an accident that would not seem to be too spectacular — during the first second.

But it triggered a chain reaction that became quite scary and expensive.

At the corner of 14th and Plum, in July, a truck was southbound on Plum, coming up on a red light as an HCC custodian in a college car preceded west, on 14th, through a green light.

For some reason, the person in the truck drove through the red light and smashed in to the HCC vehicle, a Ford Taurus, and caused enough damage to total it.

But there was more.

The driver of the truck tried to correct himself, lost control, jumped the curb and smacked into the west end of the large “Hutchinson Community College” sign on the lawn.

There were no injures. Police said the accident was not weather-related.

The sign came out of it with a flattened, dented area on its base. It was a pretty old sign and its red finish was chalky and faded.

Don Rose said it was pretty old. “I have been here for 10 years and the sign has been here as long as I have,” he said.

The new, lighted sign and the car replacement didn’t cost the school anything — it was all paid by the truck driver’s insurance.

The new sign is made of aluminum, with a new coat of bright red, blue and white paint.

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