Newspaper

A Peabody man who served the city of Newton as a sergeant on the police department, died from his injuries in a Wednesday afternoon ATV crash in Harvey County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says a little before 4 p.m. Wednesday, 30-year-old Levi Minkevitch was driving the ATV in the ditch about half of a mile east of Harvest Hill Road and Dutch Avenue.

“The rider attempted to jump the ditch into an adjacent field,” the crash log from the KHP said. “The rider lost control and rolled the ATV into the creek.”

The KHP said Minkevitch was taken to Newton Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. In a post on its Facebook page, the Newton Police Department said Sgt. Minkevitch served on the department since 2013.

“Levi was a tremendous police officer and a friend to everyone he met,” the Newton PD said. “He had a large presence and a smile that lit up a room. This loss is truly devastating.”