By RYAN CHRISTNER

rchristner@dailynews.net

An accident late Saturday night along U.S. Highway 183 claimed the lives of two northwest Kansas residents when the vehicles they were traveling in collided head-on.

According to reports from the Kansas Highway Patrol, Matthew John Cooksey, 25, Oakley, and Mary Lou Hall, 79, Ness City, died in the crash, which occurred about 9:30 p.m. on the Smoky Hill River Bridge, approximately 10 miles south of Hays near Schoenchen.

The vehicles met in the southbound lane.

Cooksey, who was not wearing a seat belt, was a passenger in a 2007 Pontiac that was headed north on the road. The vehicle's 18-year-old driver, Kayde Sue Malcom of Gove, and another 50-year-old passenger, Bruce Leon Britton of Oakley, were flown from Hays to a hospital in Wichita to receive treatment for their injuries.

A spokesperson for the Via Christi Wichita Health Network said this morning that Malcom is in serious condition, while Britton is listed in fair condition.

KHP reported Malcom and Britton also were not wearing seat belts.

Hall was a passenger in a 2005 Chevrolet Malibu driven by 81-year-old Warren H. Hall, Ness City. Both were wearing seat belts.

Warren Hall is being treated at Hays Medical Center. He is listed in critical condition.

Investigators still are unsure how the accident happened, KHP Public Resource Officer Allan Lytton said.

"The rain may have had something to do with it, but we don't know for sure," he said. "There's no facts here."