6/25/2009
MICHAEL STRAND
Barbara Shirley, who is well-known in local political circles, is in critical condition in a Wichita hospital after a motorcycle crash on Interstate Highway 70 early this morning.
Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said Shirley, 39, was a passenger on the 2007 Harley Davidson, which was driven by Cody Tenpenny, 29, 241 S. Ninth.
The motorcycle was eastbound on I-70, about five miles east of the Ninth Street interchange, when it struck a deer about 2:35 a.m.
Both Tenpenny and Shirley were thrown from the motorcycle. Tenpenny suffered minor injuries, while Shirley had what a deputy at the scene reported as “significant head injuries.”
Shirley was taken to Salina Regional Health Center, then later sent to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, where she was listed in critical condition.
Shirley, a manager at Martinelli’s Little Italy, has been involved in Salina politics for the past several years, including a run for city commission in 2007.
In June of 2008, she was elected vice president of Saline County Young Democrats, and in August she was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.
According to Kochanowski, neither Shirley nor Tenpenny was wearing a helmet; Tenpenny was cited for not having a motorcycle driver’s license.