Some alleged street racing led to an injury accident, and a busy Christmas Eve for local emergency personnel over the weekend.

At 8:55 p.m. Dec. 24, a call went out for an injury accident at the intersection of SE Fourth Street and Washington Road, Two vehicles — operated by 44-year-old Kevin Graves and 16-year-old juvenile (whose name was obtained through the Newton Police Department's traffic logs, but whose name was later removed from the traffic log), both of Newton — had engaged in a street race, according to witnesses, reported Newton Police Department Lt. Scott Powell.

Graves then lost control of his vehicle on the curve along Washington Road and wrecked in front of the businesses at said intersection in a manner that exacerbated the situation.

"Upon the arrival of fire crews, they observed a passenger vehicle on its top, so it had turned upside down," said Newton Fire/EMS Deputy Chief Steve Roberson, "however, it was entangled in electrical wires. It had struck a utility pole and the wires were down."

"He was just going too fast around that curve," Powell said. "The other car was not involved in the wreck, but it was involved in the drag race causing the wreck."

Once Newton Fire/EMS crews identified the threat of electrical wires at the site of the wreck, with Graves still pinned in the car, Roberson noted protocol was followed in contacting Westar to come and assist with the situation — to nullify the threat and allow for the extrication of the victim.

With the wires holding up the Newton Fire/EMS crew's ability to treat the victim, and given the propensity of injuries stemming from wrecks with a lot of kinetic energy (like in this case), Roberson noted LifeTeam was called in to help expedite the transportation process — with a makeshift landing pad set up at the Washington Park softball fields.

"I think it was primarily the mechanism of injury and the delayed extraction is why our crews called for the helicopter," Roberson said.

Such instances, Powell noted, also result in the victims being transported to Wichita for treatment — with Graves being taken to Wesley Medical Center. Roberson said Graves was extracted from the wreckage safely after Westar mitigated the threat of the electrical wires and he was transferred to the LifeTeam crew in stable condition. According to Wesley Medical Center, Graves is currently in good condition.

Powell stated Jan. 2 that the exact cause of the accident is still under investigation. Powell said Jan. 2 the department was reinterviewing witnesses.