WPHS senior dies in truck wreck

Josh Stieben, who died Sunday in a car accident, is shown here Dec. 4 during a WPHS pep rally prior to the first basketball game of the season.

A one-vehicle accident occurred in Ness County early Sunday morning that resulted in one fatality.

According to Kansas Highway Patrol reports, Joshua Dean Stieben, 18 of Bazine, died Sunday while driving his 1999 Ford pickup truck. He was traveling eastbound on Road 220 near County Road Y. He reportedly lost control of his vehicle on an icy and snow-packed road, which caused it to go into the north ditch. The vehicle struck multiple trees before coming to rest on the passenger’s side.

KHP said he was wearing his seat belt.

Stieben was a senior at Western Plains High School in Ransom, and he played for the Bobcats football team.

Funeral services are pending.

Counselors were on hand today at WPHS to talk with any students wishing to discuss Stieben’s death.

Update @ 7:30 p.m.: The funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Bazine at the grade school.

— Note: This article originally appeared on The Bobcat Nation.

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About toddvogts 833 Articles
Todd R. Vogts, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of media at Sterling College in Kansas. Previously, he taught yearbook, newspaper, newsmagazine, and online journalism in various Kansas high schools, and he ran a weekly newspaper in rural Kansas. He continues to freelance as a professional journalist from time to time. Also, Vogts is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Journalism Education Association (JEA), and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), among others. He earned his Master Journalism Educator (MJE) certification from JEA in 2022. When he’s not teaching or writing, he runs his mobile disk jockey service and takes part in other entrepreneurial ventures. He can be reached at twitter.com/toddvogts or via his website at www.toddvogts.com.