Former Shawnee County Treasurer Rita Cline dies in UTV accident

Rita M. Cline, who served as Shawnee County treasurer for 14 years, died Wednesday after she became trapped under an emergency vehicle in southwest Shawnee County, the county sheriff’s office said. She was 73.

Officers were called to the scene in the 3200 block of SW 93rd shortly after 10 a.m., where Cline was pronounced dead, Sheriff Brian Hill’s office said on its Facebook page.

“While assisting a friend who was backing up a side-by-side, an adult female was struck and pinned under the UTV,” the site said. “The friend immediately called 911. Officers and firefighters arrived and removed the UTV from the woman’s body.”

The sheriff’s office continues to investigate the circumstances of Cline’s death, the site said.

“For a shorter line choose Cline”

Cline was considered one of the most colorful elected officials in the history of this community.

She won election as county treasurer in 1988 after promising to eliminate the long lines of taxpayers waiting in front of the county treasurer’s office for vehicle registration papers to be processed.