Tulsa World: 9 people killed on turnpike: Cars, trucks crash northeast of Miami

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9 people killed on turnpike: Cars, trucks crash northeast of Miami

Medical helicopters line up on the shoulder of the Will Rogers Turnpike northeast of Miami, Okla., ready to take injured people to hospitals in Joplin, Mo. Nine people were killed in a series of crashes in the highway's eastbound lanes Friday afternoon. Gary Crow / For the Tulsa World

By Staff and Wire Reports
Published: 6/27/2009 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 6/27/2009 3:36 AM

MIAMI, Okla. — Nine people died Friday when a tractor-trailer slammed into a line of cars stopped by an earlier accident on a northeast Oklahoma turnpike, leaving twisted metal and debris strewn on the highway and stranding miles of traffic in the scorching heat.

Eastbound traffic was stopped about 1 p.m. on the Will Rogers Turnpike northeast of Miami because of an earlier crash when the big rig slammed into at least three cars, which then crashed into more vehicles, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown said.

"It looks like a war zone," he said. "There's mangled metal everywhere. There's debris, fluids, dead bodies."

Brown said the collisions had "quite possibly the largest death toll in a single crash" in state history.

Investigators don't think the truck driver tried to stop before the crash, which left eight adults and one child dead, Brown said. The speed limit on the turnpike is 75 mph.

A criminal investigation was being conducted, as is routine after a fatal accident, and blood was drawn from the truck driver, Brown said. There was no indication that alcohol was involved, he said.

The identities of the deceased were not released pending family notifications, he said.

Several other people were taken from the scene about 10 miles northeast of Miami to St. John's Regional Medical Center and Freeman Health Center in nearby Joplin, Mo., with the most critically injured taken by medical helicopter, OHP Capt. Scott Horton said.

At least two bodies remained in one crushed car into the evening while wrecker service workers raised a tractor-trailer rig off it, Brown said. Three wreckers — including one that is designed specifically for moving large trucks — worked to move the big rig.

Horton said one vehicle was hauling a load of sheep, but he had no information about the animals' condition.

The turnpike's eastbound lanes were closed from the Afton exit, U.S. 59/69, to the Missouri state line, for several hours, but the westbound lanes remained open.

Three more accidents happened in the eastbound lanes as cars slowed following the tractor-trailer wreck, and later a four-car crash occurred on the westbound side of the turnpike. None of the subsequent accidents involved fatalities.

The wreckage and emergency vehicles covered an estimated three-quarters of a mile of Interstate 44's eastbound lanes, but one lane was reopened about 8 p.m. as workers continued to investigate and clear the wreckage.

At one time traffic was backed up 14 miles.

Stalled traffic baked in 100-degree weather, and area residents and business people carried water to emergency workers and some stranded motorists. Some motorists got out of their vehicles and walked along the highway shoulder while they waited. Emergency officials brought a tanker truck to spray people in the heat.

Troopers with at least 20 years' experience said they couldn't remember any crash with as many fatalities, Brown said.

Tow truck driver Bob Garner of Miami, who has been a tow truck driver for 30 years, said that "this is the worst one I've ever worked."

Brown said the truck driver was taken to an area hospital, as was a 12-year-old girl who was pinned for a time in a wrecked vehicle before emergency workers could free her. He did not know their medical conditions.

Heather Collier, a spokeswoman for Freeman Health Center, said her hospital treated eight patients from the accident, but she said she could not disclose their medical conditions.

Among those involved in the crash was a 12-year-old Tulsa girl who was traveling with her grandparents and a friend to Branson, Mo., to celebrate her 13th birthday on Saturday.

The girl's father, Jason Smith of New Braunfels, Texas, told the Tulsa World by phone that his daughter, her friend and his father were not injured in the crash but that his mother was.

"My mother is still in the hospital. She was unconscious — she had head injuries" — but is doing better, Smith said.

Smith, who declined to identify his relatives by name, said his parents were taken to a Joplin, Mo., hospital by ambulance.

His daughter and her friend were taken to the hospital by a couple from Dallas who were driving behind his father's vehicle.

Smith said his father could see the tractor-trailer approaching in his rear-view mirror but had little time to react.

According to the couple from Dallas, Smith said, if his "father wouldn't have moved as quickly as he did, it would have been worse for them."

Smith said his father described the wreck as "the worst thing he had ever seen."

Smith said the couple from Dallas let his daughter use their cell phone to call him.

"It scared her," he said. "But she was OK."

Smith said he never got to say thank you to the couple from Dallas.

Lynne Duffield of Joplin was driving to Tulsa with her two sons when she came upon the crash scene.

Traffic in the westbound lanes was backed up about four miles at that time and had slowed to a crawl, she told the Tulsa World by phone.

The temperature gauge on her car registered 104 degrees, and "people were bringing coolers full of what I assume was water to the highway patrolmen," Duffield said.

Traci Jones of Ketchum was also driving in the westbound lanes.

"I saw the semi on top of what looked like an SUV," she told the World by phone, adding that a man was holding the hand of the car's passenger.

Cars were on the side of the road, and people were stopping to help, she said.

Jericho Malphrus, 17, was driving on the turnpike with his mother after touring a Bible college in Broken Arrow.

"Mainly what struck me was the amount of debris everywhere," Malphrus said. "There were clothes and snacks and debris. Someone's suitcase had busted open, and a little girl's clothes were everywhere."

His mother, Jodi Malphrus, said the accident happened about 30 car lengths ahead of her and her son.

"It was like somebody had dropped a bomb," she said. "It was horrific."

She said the first vehicle hit by the truck was an SUV, which was so mangled it could barely be identified as a vehicle.

World staff writers Kevin Canfield and Manny Gamallo, World correspondents Brenda Luthy and Sheila Stogsdill, and The Associated Press contributed to this story. By Staff and Wire Reports

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "9 killed in crash on Will Rogers Turnpike near Miami," which was published on 6/26/2009.

	Report Comment Popeye, T-Town (6/26/2009 4:07:12 PM) ""...in a grinding six vehicle crash..." That's a headline that will give you the shivers!
	Report Comment Four Sixteen Rigby, (6/26/2009 4:11:25 PM) 75 mph is fast enough, folks.
	Report Comment Michael C., Tulsa (6/26/2009 4:19:31 PM) Wow. What a sad event. Terrible way to start the weekend. Prayers for those poor folks, indeed.
	Report Comment Sarah74104, Tulsa (6/26/2009 4:28:28 PM) Three additional wrecks west of there? What is going on? I wonder if they happened because of the pile up or if they are unrelated. This has been a scary and tragic week! scratch that... scary and tragic year!
	Report Comment dillon, Tulsa (6/26/2009 4:32:11 PM) The news just showed a picture...it appears the semi ran over several vehicles.
	Report Comment LoveTulsa, (6/26/2009 4:39:03 PM) I passed this wreck right after it happened. The semi did overturn onto at least one SUV pulling a horse trailer that I saw. Someone inside the SUV in the passenger seat was alive when I passed as they were holding their hand and talking to them. There were cars overturned in the ditch and crashed cars on the shoulders. I also saw some of the other accidents on the way backl into Tulsa. They were rear end accidents from the back up. So sad for these people.
	Report Comment LoveTulsa, (6/26/2009 4:40:17 PM) Also, from what I saw, it looked like possibly the 18 wheeler had swerved to avoid the SUV pulling the horse trailer. The horse trailer was jackknifed. I wouldn't blame the semi just yet.
	Report Comment Bullhead, Nicut (6/26/2009 4:42:54 PM) I'm not sure I know where the WR Turnpike is...
	Report Comment Michael C., Tulsa (6/26/2009 4:44:00 PM) Holy cow! What the heck is going on up there?
	Report Comment Sarah74104, Tulsa (6/26/2009 4:49:00 PM) Bullhead- It's I-44 from Tulsa to Missouri border
	Report Comment Pony Rider, (6/26/2009 4:51:51 PM) Typical commenter, Romney, no clue what happened & you're blaming the truck driver. Ever been behind the wheel of one of those? Try it some time, I'll guarantee you'll get an education in driver stupidity. Maybe it was a jerk in a sports car heading for the lake talking on his cell phone. Or a teenager with a 2-month old license out driving around where s/he's not supposed to be.
	Report Comment Biker Patriot, Broken Arrow (6/26/2009 5:02:38 PM) As a former accident investigator, the truck driver is only at fault 10 to 15 percent of the time. Prayers to the families of all involved.
	Report Comment Tulsapro, TULSA (6/26/2009 5:05:01 PM) Never blame the truck driver until you know the whole story. A friend of mine drives trucks and has opened my eyes about how insane car drivers around them. They get cut off, run off and generally disregarded by drivers. Disrespecting the poor maneuverability of a semi is foolish. The truckers are always blamed but they are the ones who are the trained professionals. Think about it.
	Report Comment best4tulsa, (6/26/2009 5:08:00 PM) 8 dead now
	Report Comment Tulsapro, TULSA (6/26/2009 5:08:07 PM) Thank you Biker Patriot, I didn't see your post before my comment. It's good to know I was not inaccurate.
	Report Comment Tulsapro, TULSA (6/26/2009 5:08:27 PM) I'm so sorry to hear that.
	Report Comment best4tulsa, (6/26/2009 5:09:16 PM) Sad, news 8 has OHP on saying semi failed to stop slamming into several cars stopped from previous accident
	Report Comment SeriousP, (6/26/2009 5:14:34 PM) People who cannot get out of the LEFT Lane are the problem! GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE! It's a passing lane - not the SUV lane! And ride right beside Semi's PASS & Get back into the RIGHT LANE! I drive this turnpike everyday and the "Leftys" are out there with no clue of what is going on around them. At these speeds you have to be aware of your sorroundings.
	Report Comment SeriousP, (6/26/2009 5:19:06 PM) Good comment Tulsapro, These truckers need our respect, they are huge and drivers dont realize they cant stop. What a tragedy!
	Report Comment dillon, Tulsa (6/26/2009 5:32:30 PM) SeriousP...you could not be more right.
	Report Comment ajohnb, Jenks (6/26/2009 5:41:13 PM) Yeah limit the speed for trucks and then you have them going 55 or 60 and cars going 75. Illinois tried that and no they are raising the speed limit back up because of the number of people running upon a truck too fast and slmming into the back of it. Maybe if these car drivers would limit themselves to 75 MPH or the legal speed limit and quit texting while they are driving. They could pay attention to the road instead of trying to read the newspaper and text and email while driving. SeriousP, you are very correct. These left lane idiots have no idea of what problems they cause when they are going under the speed limit while driving in the left lane. There is a law in Oklahoma that says, "stay right except to pass".
	Report Comment mamaone, (6/26/2009 5:44:37 PM) So there were several vehicles stopped as a result of a first accident and the semi was unable to stop? Was the semi coming over the hill in the picture? If so, it would have been very hard for the semi driver to anticipate a line of stopped cars on the other side and there would be no way he could stop in time if even if he was just doing 50-60mph before cresting the hill. I recently read of another accident that occurred the same way. I wish we could have more of those flashing traffic billboards posted at regular intervals along the turnpike or some other method of warning drivers of dangerous driving situations ahead (wrecks, construction, slowed traffic ahead). My condolences to all involved in this terrible tragedy.You will be in my prayers.
	Report Comment Libs-R-Us, (6/26/2009 5:57:15 PM) ajohnb wrote: Yeah limit the speed for trucks and then you have them going 55 or 60 and cars going 75. Illinois tried that and no they are raising the speed limit back up because of the number of people running upon a truck too fast and slmming into the back of it..." I noticed that a couple of years ago when I was travelling through Illinois. What a nightmare! Wonder which rocket scientist came up with that? I couldn't believe the chaos it was causing as I drove along the interstate.
	Report Comment thinkmarley, (6/26/2009 6:01:03 PM) My parents were taking my twelve year old daughter and her friend to Branson for my daughters thirteenth B-Day tomorrow. When my father saw the semi coming in the rear view mirror; he said he tried to get out of the way but just couldn't. My mom is in the hospital in Joplin, but she is going to be ok.Everyone else in the car is ok THANK GOD, and all my prayers and all my love go out to everyone involved in this horrible accident. I am stuck in Texas but lots of my family have arrived in Joplin and are relaying info to me. Some very sad heart wrenching things .
	Report Comment thinkmarley, (6/26/2009 6:07:57 PM) I really do not think that this is the time to start blaming anyone; this is the time for hope and prayer. If you don't believe in prayer that is fine, but if you do; now is the time.

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