Towanda Masonic Butler County Kansas

BUTLER COUNTY SHERIFF’S SERGEANT STEPHEN L. HOPPER

A Butler County sheriff’s sergeant and former Towanda woman were killed in a head-on crash Saturday night on Santa Fe Lake Road three-tenths of a mile north of U.S. 54.

The victims are Stephen L. Hopper, 26, of Andover and Anita Hinnen, 35, Oak Hill. Mrs. Hinnen was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Loren D. Wallace and the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Maxine Hinnen, all of Towanda.

The accident happened at 10:30 p.m. Saturday as Hopper swerved his southbound patrol car to miss another vehicle, then lost control and went into a ditch before returning to the roadway and colliding head-on with the Hinnen vehicle, according the Highway Patrol trooper Clinton Walls of El Dorado.

Mrs. Hinnen’s husband, Terry, 35, and three Hinnen children and another child in the Hinnen vehicle were injured. They are in Wesley Medical Center, Wichita. Terry Hinnen who was driving, was reported in fair condition this morning with a fractured jaw, Roger Hinnen, 12, was in serious condition with head injuries; Stacey Hinnen, was in fair with severe facial lacerations and a leg fracture; Travis Hinnen, three months was in fair condition with a skull fracture; and five year old Jennifer Wilson of Independence was in fair condition with a leg fracture.

Hopper was dead on arrival at the August Medical Complex, according to Wayne Mathias, hospital administrator.

The deputy had been on his way to Santa Fe Lake near Augusta, where the lake caretaker had reported the possibility of trouble developing with a large crowd of people at the lake who were drinking. Santa Fe Lake is actually on Augusta city property, but sheriff’s deputies are sometimes called out to assist Augusta police officers at the lake, according to the Augusta Department of Public Safety.

Walls said that it is not known whether Hopper was using his siren or flashing lights when the accident happened. He also said that he does not anticipate charges being filed in the accident, although the investigation is continuing.

Sheriff Dave Williams said this morning that the officers who had known Hopper and ridden with him described him as an extremely good driver. This accident was the first that Hopper had been involved in since he joined the sheriff’s department in April of 1977 after serving as chief of police at Andover.

The accident “has got everybody here pretty torn up,” Williams said.

Funeral services for Mrs. Hinnen are pending at Kirby-Morris Funeral Home.

The funeral for Hopper will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Augusta United Methodist Church. His survivors include his wife, Teena; a son, Justin, and a daughter, Heather, all of the home at 16095 East Bales, rural Wichita; a sister, Cynthia Hevel, Waverly; and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Melville Hopper, Augusta. Dunsford Funeral Home, Augusta, is in charge of arrangements. A memorial has been established with the Andover State Bank.

Elsewhere in the state, two other traffic deaths were reported this weekend. Michael J. Fitzgibbons, 20, of Topeka was killed in one-vehicle accident near Lawrence Saturday. The body of truck driver Lyle Dietrich, 57, Canton, S. D., was found early Saturday beside his truck in Durham. He was apparently hit by another vehicle while standing next to his truck. (El Dorado Times, May 21, 1979)