A van with 10 Iowa State students that was pulling a trailer carrying the ISU solar car was involved in an accident just south of Topeka, Kan., Tuesday morning.

All 10 passengers were sent to local hospitals. The solar car sustained extensive damage.

One of the students, Karla Abrahamson, a freshman in pre-engineering from White Bear Lake, Minn., underwent surgery Tuesday afternoon.

John McCarroll, director of university relations, said five students were immediately released from Stormont Vail Regional Medical Center in Topeka. Two students were treated and released, while three others were admitted to the hospital.

Andrew Earhart, a sophomore in construction engineering from Kingwood, Texas, and Brian Galvin, a sophomore in aerospace engineering from Galva, were the two admitted. Allen Ihlefeld, a sophomore in industrial engineering from Muscatine, and Bibek “Bob” Sahu, a sophomore in computer engineering from West Des Moines, were treated and released.

Five other students were treated and released from another facility, St. Francis Hospital in Topeka.

McCarroll said staff members in the Dean of Students Office have contacted all the family members of the 18 students on the trip. Several family members, including Abrahamson’s, are going to Topeka.

Hospital officials are making lodging arrangements for the students.

At an afternoon news conference, McCarroll, who had received reports from the Kansas State Highway Patrol, said the trailer carrying the solar car began swerving as members of Team PrISUm were driving north on Interstate 335, a part of the Kansas Turnpike, at about 8 a.m. The trailer then jackknifed, causing the ISU-owned van to go into the ditch. The van went through a fence and slid on its side into a tree.

Kansas State Trooper Mark McCune was the first officer on the scene. According to his report, “The trailer started to whip; the vehicle lost control, overturned onto its left side and went into a ditch and hit a tree.”

The Ford van was driven by David Stutzman, 20, of North Liberty. Stutzman is a sophomore in mechanical engineering.

“The students in the van confirmed that he was awake and alert,” McCarroll said.

Reports indicate that the weight of the trailer pulled the van off the road after the trailer slid.

The van was in a two-vehicle caravan following a Winnebago carrying eight other students. The Winnebago pulled over soon after the accident, McCarroll said. He said there was extensive damage to the van and solar car. Both vehicles and the trailer were taken to Brown’s Super Service in Topeka.

Keith Brown, of Brown’s Super Service, said the solar car and trailer look reparable, but the van is “totaled.”

“The van has a very large tree mark in the top of it where it slid into a tree sideways,” he said.

Brown said the solar car’s chassis and solar panels are fine, but the fiberglass body is damaged. “It looks like the fiberglass body is kind of broke from the frame,” he said. “I think it’s fixable.”

The trailer has extensive damage to the front right corner and two flat tires on the left side, Brown said.

Team PrISUm was returning with the solar car — ExCYtor — from Mesa, Ariz., where members successfully qualified for Sunrayce ’97, which starts in Indianapolis beginning June 19. The race stretches 1,200 miles to Colorado Springs. Sunrayce is a biennial solar car race with college and university teams from across the country. In 1995, ISU placed 19th out of 37 solar cars.

ISU solar car team members put “thousands” of hours into building the car.

The Mesa qualifying races were to determine racing order, but results will not be released until teams from the eastern United States complete their qualifying round, said Jim Hill, adviser to Team PrISUm and ISU professor of chemical engineering.

Hill, who left for Topeka Tuesday afternoon, said the team looked to do well this year. “Personally, I thought we had one of the better cars going into the race,” he said.

There are 35 members of Team PrISUm. About 20 students typically go to racing events.

The effect of the accident hasn’t sunk in for Hill yet, he said, adding that it’s hard to place a dollar value on the car.

McCarroll said Tom Ligouri, director of external affairs for the College of Engineering, flew down Tuesday morning to help with lodging and travel arrangements for the students.

Michelle Zilisch, an ISU senior in journalism and mass communication, said her younger sister, Nicole Zillisch, was one of the teammates in the van. Michelle Zillisch said she is thankful her sister and the other students survived. Nicole Zillisch is a sophomore in business.

“It is sure putting a damper on Dead Week and makes you want to just end the semester,” she said. “Things could have been a lot worse.”

Murray Blackwelder, vice president for external affairs, said the team still can race in Sunrayce ’97, but “they’re going to need some money.” He said fund-raising for the team will be coordinated through the ISU Foundation.