MARSHFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a cow that wandered onto a southwest Missouri highway was hit by four different vehicles with one fiery impact sending a driver to the hospital

21-year-old Hannah Maxwell said she didn’t have time to swerve before her sport utility vehicle collided with the animal around 8:15 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 44 between the towns of Marshfield and Strafford. She recalled that, “It happened so quickly.”

Another tractor-trailer was able to avoid the van but not the cow, which was hit for a fourth time.

PINEVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A 24-year-old southwest man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for driving drunk and causing a traffic crash that killed a man and injured four other people.

Eh Blue Htoo, of Noel, pleaded guilty Tuesday to driving while intoxicated in an accident resulting in a death. His plea deal called for a sentence of eight years, which the judge imposed.

Htoo’s vehicle crossed the centerline on Missouri 90 about 3 miles east of Southwest City in November 2017. His car hit a pickup truck head-on, killing the driver, 36-year-old Roberto Rosillo of Southwest City. Two of Rosillo’s children, along with another woman and her son who were passengers in the truck, were injured in the crash.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for making bogus emergency calls to authorities across the U.S., including one that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man following a dispute between two online players over $1.50 bet in the “Call of Duty: WWII” video game.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Tyler R. Barriss, 26, under a deal in which he pleaded guilty in November to a total of 51 federal charges related to fake calls and threats.

The 2017 death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch drew national attention to the practice of “swatting,” a form of retaliation used to report false emergency call to get authorities, particularly a SWAT team, to descend on an address. Authorities say an Ohio gamer recruited Barriss to “swat” a Wichita gamer, but that the address they used was old, leading police to Finch, who was not involved in the video game or the dispute.

Barriss admitted he called Wichita police from Los Angeles on Dec. 28, 2017, to falsely report a shooting and kidnapping at that Wichita address. Finch answered the door, and an officer shot the unarmed man.

Barriss’ prosecution in Wichita consolidated other federal cases that had initially been filed against him in California and the District of Columbia involving similar calls and threats he made. Prosecutors had asked for a 25-year sentence , while the defense had sought a 20-year term.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation recognized swatting as an emerging threat as early as 2008, noting it had become commonplace among gamers.

The intended target in Wichita, Shane Gaskill, 20, and the man who allegedly recruited Barriss, Casey Viner, 19, of North College Hill, Ohio, are charged as co-conspirators. Authorities say Viner provided Barriss with an address for Gaskill that Gaskill had previously given to Viner. Authorities also say that when Gaskill noticed Barriss was following him on Twitter, he gave Barriss that old address and taunted him to “try something.”

Viner and Gaskill pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice, wire fraud and other counts. Viner has notified the court he intends to change that plea at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Gaskill’s trial has been delayed to April 23 amid plea talks with federal prosecutors.

Finch’s family has sued the city of Wichita and the unidentified officers involved. Police have said the officer who shot Finch thought he was reaching for a gun because he moved a hand toward his waistband. Prosecutors declined to charge the officer.

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A California man faces decades in prison when he’s sentenced for making hoax emergency calls, including one that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man.Tyler R. Barriss will be sentenced Friday in federal court in Wichita, Kansas. The 26-year-old California man has pleaded guilty to 51 charges related to fake calls and threats under an agreement calling for at least 20 years in prison. His case drew national attention to the practice of “swatting,” a form of retaliation in which gamers get police to go to an online opponent’s address.One of Barriss’ calls led to the death of 28-year-old Andrew Finch, who not playing video games. Barriss’ call followed a dispute between two other people over a $1.50 bet in “Call of Duty: WWII.”

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after a child in her home day care was injured so badly he was left blind and with brain damage.

Paige Hatfield, 27, Olathe, was sentenced Thursday for aggravated battery and operating an unlicensed day care.

Hatfield was found guilty in January of injuring 4-month-old Kingston Gilbert in January 2017.

Doctors at Children’s Mercy Hospital diagnosed the infant with abusive head trauma. Court records said a doctor told police the type of injuries are caused only by “violent non-accidental physical trauma.”

Hatfield testified at her trial that she did not hurt the child.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has rejected a move to repeal part of a state law allowing concealed carry of firearms on college campuses.

Lawrence Democratic Rep. Barbara Ballard on Thursday offered an amendment to an unrelated gun bill that would have added college campuses to a list of places exempt from the state’s concealed carry law. The law requires that most government-owned buildings allow people to carry concealed firearms unless there is adequate security to prevent anyone from bringing in a weapon.

Lawrence is home to the University of Kansas, and Ballard told lawmakers that some parents have decided to send their children to out-of-state or private institutions that do not permit concealed carry of firearms.

Ballard’s amendment failed on a 43-75 vote.

NORTON—A Kansas school resource officer arrested on suspicion of child sex crimes is expected to make a first court appearance Friday, according to Norton County Sheriff Troy Thomson.

Mark Scheetz, 30, of Lansing, was arrested Wednesday in Bonner Springs, Kansas on suspicion of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated indecent liberties with a child, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Scheetz was living in Norton County from 2013 to 2015 when the alleged incidents happened. The KBI says it was reported that Scheetz “engaged in sex acts with a minor, sent lewd photos to minors and used electronic devices to solicit sex with minors.”

Scheetz is being held on a $500,000 bond in the Norton County Jail, according to Thomson. He was employed by the Kansas City, Kansas, school district police department at the time of the arrest.

Before working there, Scheetz worked for the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office from 2016 to 2018.

By ROXANA HEGEMAN

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Congressional investigations over voter irregularities expanded Thursday with Democratic lawmakers requesting information from state officials in Kansas and Texas.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent letters seeking communications related to the decision by Ford County, Kansas, to move the only Dodge City polling site outside of city limits for the 2018 midterm elections. It also is seeking communications about efforts in January by the Texas secretary of state’s office to purge voter rolls amid disputed claims that registered voters may not be U.S. citizens.

The four letters were signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

The spokeswoman for Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said in an email they have acknowledged receipt of the request and “will respond accordingly.”

Jeff Mateer, first assistant attorney general in Texas, said in an emailed statement that they are reviewing the letter and “look forward to providing the committee with information that demonstrates our compliance with the law while ensuring free and fair elections.”

Spokespeople for Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox in Kansas and Secretary of State David Whitley in Texas did not immediately return messages seeking comment Thursday.

For about two decades, the only polling site for Dodge City’s 13,000 registered voters was the Civic Center in a mostly white part of town. Cox decided to move the site to the county Expo Center located outside of town and more than a mile from the nearest bus stop the month before the midterms. County officials have said the move was prompted by a planned construction project at the Civic Center, although work had not started by the time of the November election.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas sued Cox, arguing that moving the only polling site in Dodge City outside the city limits will make it more difficult for the city’s majority Hispanic population to vote because they tend to have less access to transportation and flexible work schedules. A federal judge refused to order the county to open a new polling location just days before the election, finding it was not in the public’s interest because it would likely create more voter confusion.

The letter to Cox from Democratic lawmakers acknowledges that Ford County recently settled a lawsuitand agreed to open additional polling sites in the city for future elections. However, it said they remained concerned that the decision to move the polling site last year may have impacted the voting ability of Dodge City residents. Their letter to Schwab seeks to determine the role of the Kansas secretary of state’s office in moving the polling site.

Texas’ bungled search for illegal voters began in January when state election officials released a deeply flawed list of 98,000 registered voters flagged as potential noncitizens. But it became almost immediately clear that the list wasn’t vetted and that the U.S. citizenship of tens of thousands of Texas voters had been wrongly questioned.

A federal judge in February called Texas’ scouring of voter rolls for noncitizens “a solution looking for a problem” and prohibited the state from removing any voters following lawsuits by civil rights groups.

Paxton had originally amplified the January announcement as a “VOTER FRAUD ALERT” in campaign fundraising emails before problems with the list emerged. President Donald Trump had also used the reports to renew his unsubstantiated claims of rampant voter fraud.

The fallout has put Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s hand-picked elections chief in jeopardy. Whitley was appointed in December but still needs confirmation in the Texas Senate, where Democrats signaled they have enough votes to reject him.

The letters from lawmakers ask that the requested communications be produced by April 11.

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