Community remembers Talala man killed in Kansas crash as loving father, coach, friend

Friends are telling us about a Talala man who was killed in a wrong-way crash in Kansas.

That crash killed eight people, including four from Green Country.

Several people say Wayne Walls cared about being a great coach and a great person, and loved being a father to his two children.

FAMILY MAN

Walls’s family says he loved his children more than anything, and they were his entire world.

"Loving guy, really cared for kids more than anything,” said Clent Stewart, Jr., who coached with Walls. “Obviously his own kid Braden and also his daughter Izzy."

WHAT HAPPENED

Wayne Walls and his 15-year-old son Braden were riding in a car that crashed in Franklin County, Kansas, after a basketball tournament.

The crash also killed Tulsans Jaimon Gilstrap, Kyrin Schumpert, and Donald “D.J.” Laster.

Braden Walls was taken to a hospital but is now at home recovering.

Kansas Highway Patrol says Gilstrap was driving the car south on Highway 169 in Franklin County near Greeley when he tried to pass a slower car on a two-lane road, and both cars hit head-on in the shoulder of the northbound lane.

The crash killed all four people in the other car, including Alexander Ernst of Ames, IA, and John, Norleen, and Madalyn Elliott, all of Chesterfield, MO.

“A BIG TEDDY BEAR”

Walls coached all over Green Country, and many people are in shock that he’s gone.

"Wayne was almost like a big teddy bear,” said Stewart. “He wasn't afraid to get on kids to make sure that they're doing the right thing and discipline them, but also would love on them as much as he could."

Stewart coached with Walls in Bartlesville.

"He really enjoyed pushing kids to be their best,” said Stewart. “That's what he took pride in, and it wasn't just him wanting to take the kids that were already talented; he would take any kid that wanted to get better."

SOMEONE SPECIAL

Michael Rose is the Athletic Director at Sapulpa, where Walls worked for two years.

He says Walls was someone special.

"He loved to be around kids, the kids loved to be around him,” said Rose “He had a unique ability just to connect with them. He was able to coach all different types of kids, and I think that's what drew them to him."

He says it wasn’t just athletes who liked being around him.

"How he was able to connect and relate with all kids,” said Rose. “Didn't even have to be athletes, just kids in the building were attracted to him just because of his care and concern for them."

He says everyone is feeling the impact of this loss.

"Just very sad to know that someone like Wayne is gone,” said Rose. “That's just unfortunate for the kids that he coached, the kids that he was teaching, just a huge loss."

THERE FOR EVERYONE

His friends say they will miss how Walls was always a phone call away in good times and in bad times.

"We lost a great person that truly cared about everybody,” said Kevin Jolley, who knew Walls for decades. “Not just the people around him. He could have met you today, and you would feel like you've known him your whole life."

He says Walls would want everyone to stay positive.

"He just wanted to see everybody do well,” said Jolley. “He would want everybody to keep going well, keep pushing forward, doing the things that they want to do."

He says it’s impressive to see Walls forming such a large community miles away from his hometown in Maryland.

"You want to touch as many people as you can,” said Jolley. “And for him, for not being from out this way, to have a big impact on his community says a lot about him."

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