TOPEKA
A caller to 911 reported he was almost struck by the vehicle Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop is accused of driving the wrong way on Interstate 70 for 10 minutes early Tuesday.
“They about hit me, but I’m OK, I’m fine,” the caller said.
Emergency dispatch audio recordings reveal fresh details about the incident, which ended on the highway near downtown Topeka after police say they chased the vehicle for about five minutes.
The fuller portrait of the incident comes as Suellentrop’s standing among Senate Republicans showed signs of weakening a day after the Wichita Republican was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of driving under the influence, speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road and attempting to flee or evade law enforcement.
Suellentrop hasn’t been formally charged by prosecutors. At a first appearance, Shawnee County District Court Judge Penny Moylan didn’t find probable cause to hold Suellentrop or require him to post bail and ordered him released. Moylan said there was a “failure to include pertinent information” in the arrest report, but didn’t elaborate on what was lacking. He could face charges later.
Shawnee County dispatchers fielded at least three 911 calls related to a white SUV traveling the wrong way, according to audio released by the county. The Kansas Highway Patrol, which arrested Suellentrop, has said he is suspected of driving a white SUV the wrong way.
“They weren’t driving reckless, I’m not trying to say they were driving reckless. But they were in the wrong lane and they met coming up the on ramp and scared the crap out of me,” a caller said.
Senate Vice President Rick Wilborn, a McPherson Republican, said there “could be a reassessment” of Suellentrop’s position in the GOP caucus, even as he praised him as an effective and popular leader.
Wilborn’s comments marked the first time Senate Republican leaders have acknowledged the possibility of political consequences for Suellentrop. The remarks came after he and Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, released a joint statement Tuesday that made no mention of Suellentrop’s future, but called the incident “serious and very unfortunate.”
Some Republicans were more blunt on Wednesday. Sen. John Doll, a Garden City Republican, predicted Suellentrop may find his influence diminished.
“I have no ill will. I wish him nothing but the best. But there’s a price to pay when you screw up and he had a bad night. He had a real bad night,” Doll said.
Asked about the future of Suellentrop’s leadership role, Sen. Dennis Pyle, a Hiawatha Republican, said simply: “I’ll just say this, what he did was wrong.”
Others were more hesitant to draw conclusions quite yet.
“Hopefully we get the facts early and out quick enough that we understand what’s going on for sure and that way we can do what’s best for the caucus,” Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a Galena Republican, said.
Sen. Renee Erickson, a Wichita Republican and one of the chamber’s more conservative members, said she hoped Suellentrop and his family would be met with “grace and privacy” and that the caucus needed to be patient in determining what to do moving forward.
Suellentrop himself remained out of sight Wednesday morning after not showing up for Tuesday’s Senate session. Spokesman Mike Pirner hasn’t issued any statements on his behalf and an email and phone call to a number for Suellentrop wasn’t answered. But Pirner said Wednesday that Suellentrop was in the Capitol.
Suellentrop, a businessman, is a well-known figure in the Legislature. After spending 2009-2016 in the House, he entered the Senate in 2017. He ascended to the role of majority leader after only his first Senate term.
This story was originally published March 17, 2021 1:36 PM.
