7/31/2009

Kansas National Guard colonel injured in motorcycle wreck

By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

Col. Jeffery Jordan of the Kansas National Guard, deputy commander of the Great Plains Joint Training Center, was injured Wednesday when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by a car whose driver then fled the scene.

Jordan, 47, was eastbound on State Street on a Kawasaki motorcycle about 5 p.m. Wednesday when a Cadillac pulled in front of him at the Interstate Highway 135 exit, according to a Saline County Sheriff's Office report.

The car was stopped a few minutes later by a sheriff's officer on Stimmel Road, about two miles from the site of the crash, said Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski.

Lloyd Brammer, 57, of Sylvan Grove, the alleged driver, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident and multiple traffic violations.

Jordan was taken by ambulance to Salina Regional Health Center, where he was treated in the emergency department and released.

Reached at his home Thursday morning, Jordan said he had scrapes, cuts and bruises but no broken bones.

"I'm in bed right now, on painkillers," he said. "I feel like 100 Ninjas have been beating on me."

Jordan said he was on his way home from the Great Plains Joint Training Center near the Salina Airport when the Cadillac pulled out in front of him at the I-135 exit at State Street. The motorcycle was traveling at about 50 mph, and Jordan, who was wearing a helmet, said he had little time to slow down or stop.

"He just slammed on his brakes and stared at me," Jordan said. "If he'd kept going, I would have been fine."

Jordan slid the bike into the driver's door and hit the ground. He said he remembered little about what happened after that, "except that I couldn't move, at first."

Jordan said he would have been in bad shape if he hadn't been wearing a helmet, and he feels lucky he wasn't more seriously injured.

"It happened so fast," he said. "I'm glad they caught the guy and he didn't kill anyone."

Jordan said he doesn't plan to return to work for a few days, and he might have to miss an open house and training demonstration Saturday at the Smoky Hill Weapons Range, hosted by the Kansas Air National Guard.

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

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