Hours after the Sabetha High School football team won a state title Saturday in Hutchinson, a two-vehicle crash on US-75 highway north of Holton claimed the lives of the mother, sister and uncle of Sabetha High players Tanner Ukele and Carson Ukele while seriously injuring their father.


The head-on collision about 8:05 p.m. involved the minivan the players? mother was driving and a sport utility vehicle driven by a Nebraska woman, who was trying to pass another vehicle on the two-lane highway, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol accident report published online.

The report said three people ? the Nebraska woman, a Missouri man who was her passenger and the players? father, who was in the minivan ? suffered disabling injuries and were taken to the University of Kansas Medical Center at Kansas City, Kan.

The report identified those killed as Carmen K. Ukele, 42, Marlee G. Ukele, 11, and Stephen M. Ukele, 62, all of Sabetha. The three were the mother, sister and uncle of Tanner and Carson Ukele.

Another passenger in the minivan ? the boys? father and Carmen Ukele?s husband,. Lee F. Ukele, 59, of Sabetha ? was airlifted by Life Star helicopter ambulance to the University of Kansas Medical Center at Kansas City, Kan., according to the accident report. Lee Ukele was in stable condition Sunday after undergoing surgeries overnight.

The other driver ? Maria D. Perez-Marquez, 48, of Omaha, Neb. ? and her passenger, Rosalao G. Perez, 29, of St. Joseph, Mo., were also taken by Life Star to KU Medical Center, the report said.

The highway patrol was investigating circumstances of the crash, which came the day Sabetha High School won the Class 3A state football championship at Hutchinson by defeating Marysville, 7-6.

Tanner Ukele, a senior, was starting left guard and Carson Ukele, a sophomore, the starting right tackle for the Sabetha team. The Bluejays sealed Saturday?s victory, their first state title since 1997, by intercepting a pass at their goal line in the final minute.

The crash occurred about one-half mile north of US-75?s intersection with 318th Road in northern Jackson County as Carmen Ukele drove a 2008 Town & Country minivan that had Stephen, Marlee and Lee Ukele as passengers, the accident report said. The crash site was about 12 miles north of Holton.

The report indicated the crash occurred as Perez-Marquez drove a 2008 Equinox SUV southbound on US-75 while Carmen Ukele drove the minivan northbound.

After Perez-Marquez attempted to pass another southbound vehicle, she and Carmen Ukele tried to avoid colliding by both swerving to the east shoulder, where they struck head-on, the report said. Both vehicles came to rest on the shoulder.

Authorities closed US-75 between K-20 highway on the north and K-9 on the south for nearly eight hours after the crash. It reopened at 4:02 a.m. Sunday, a highway patrol dispatcher said.

Carmen Ukele, who had graduated in 1993 from Bern High School at Bern in Nemaha County, indicated on her Facebook page that she loved being a stay-at-home mom and raising her three children.

?I consider myself outgoing and love to have fun,? she wrote. ?When all my children are in school, I may go back to teaching because I love doing that too. I believe that life is too short so we should live it to the fullest.?

Carmen Ukele, Marlee Ukele, Stephen Ukele and Perez were all wearing seat belts, the accident report said. It indicated authorities weren?t clear about whether Perez-Marquez or Lee Ukele were wearing seat belts.

Popkess Mortuary at Sabetha was expected to be in charge of funeral arrangements.


Carmen Ukele Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/carmen.ukel...9%3A1511751392