NEOSHO COUNTY, Kan. — An arrest has been made in connection with a December 26th crash where a Neosho County Sheriff’s Patrol pickup was struck while parked along the side of 160th Road between Kiowa and Jackson Roads northwest of Erie.
The Neosho County Sheriff’s Office said in a release late Tuesday morning they were able to extract video from an in-car camera system, which combined with leads from a number of individuals, provided enough information to obtain a search warrant in Wilson County, which ultimately led to the arrest of 48-year-old Jeremy L. Borton of Buffalo on multiple charges.
Deputy Cierra Riggs was at the time of the crash legally parked off the roadway on a pasture access facing east on 160th. A westbound truck had gone left of center and off the roadway into the ditch, where it later launched a culvert and struck head on. Deputy Riggs was taken to Neosho County Memorial Regional Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, and has since returned to duty.
Upon being struck, the deputy radioed in the accident and activated the emergency equipment. This causes the in-car camera system to make a recording of approx. 30 seconds before the emergency lights are activated.
Due to the extensive damage to the patrol unit, the vehicle battery was damaged, and the patrol unit lost enough power to keep the emergency lights going and also failed to upload the video to the cloud storage. Investigators were able to retrieve that video Monday afternoon.
Borton is facing requested charges of reckless aggravated battery, leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report, driving while suspended, no ignition Interlock device when required, and no liability insurance. After his arrest Borton was transported to the Neosho County Jail.
Upon completion of the investigation, reports will be forwarded to the Neosho County Attorney’s Office for review. Along with assistance from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, Chanute Police and the Kansas Highway are also part of the investigation.
