T.B'Ville, Bruins (10/12/2009 7:22:08 AM)

Sorry to the realtives of the women.

Will the man who fell asleep get charged with four counts of homicide?

imflyinlow, (10/12/2009 7:38:00 AM)

The driver fell asleep at the wheel at 430pm??? Wonder what's up with that?

What a terrible end. Pray for the families of everyone involved in this tragic event.

hornhater2, (10/12/2009 7:39:58 AM)

T.B'ville, Bruins are you not getting a little ahead of yourself, why don't we hear all the facts before screaming for blood.

O, Tulsa (10/12/2009 8:02:41 AM)

My wife and I were on the way back from Pawhuska and came upon this about one minute after it happened. We could do nothing except call 911 and tell them to send emergency help and the "jaws of life". I thought probably what had happened is the drive of the Dodge pickup had tried to pass during a "double yellow". Very tragic and should serve as a reminder to be careful. You can control what you do but you can't control what other drivers do. From reading this it appears that the children survived which we were praying for as it was pretty obvious that those riding in the front seat did not have a change. Direct head on collision.

1freebird852, Sperry (10/12/2009 9:26:05 AM)

I drove past this accident very shortly after it had happened. Emergency vehicles were not there yet. I did see children, why are they not mentioned in the story? Were the children okay? It was just horrible. From my point of view, it did look like the pick-up was at fault here.I prayed for them as I drove past. On my return from Pawhuska, drivers were diverted around this accident, but I did see life flight there

T.B'Ville, Bruins (10/12/2009 9:49:06 AM)

hornhater, no. Kinda like the older man on the turnpike that had no reason, like falling asleep, for killing 10 people accidently. There's no such thing as an accident anymore, well except here in B'ville.

Arbythree, Tulsa (10/12/2009 10:08:06 AM)

This is horrible! My prayers to the families.

lucky girl, mine (10/12/2009 10:23:01 AM)

How sad

Tulsa World Web Reporter, Tulsa (10/12/2009 10:51:58 AM)

Just added more information.

Few Clothes, America (10/12/2009 12:29:46 PM)

Wow. My condolences to the families.

okierose, Tulsa County (10/12/2009 12:36:21 PM)

I hope that little girl has someone with her, although it sounds like they all died.

ghawkins46, (10/12/2009 4:31:06 PM)

O, I'm sorry you had to come upon
such a terrible scene

sashapuf, Raytown (10/12/2009 5:21:36 PM)

I knew these 4 women personally. They were good women who dedicated themselves to giving to others. The one Order not mentioned in the article was the Order Of True Kindred. Order True Kindred is one of the oldest Masonic women's groups in the country. Chris Fulghum was Worthy Past Supreme Commander; "Aunt Martha" Jacobs was past Worthy Grand Commander of Trinity OMO Northeast District; Lavonne Gantt and Norma Otterstetter were in the Supreme line and past Worthy Grand Commanders of Trinity OMO Northeast District in Ohio. Previously, in August we lost
Darlene Cummings Corley to complications of Diabetes. It is sad to loose 5 awesome women so soon in a row.
I want to thank all who gave aid at the time of this unfortunate accident. My father was from Oklahoma and I know your hearts go out to these women. I have read the blogs and it has given me comfort at this difficult time. I will pray for all concerned.

Thank you,
Sashapuf from Missouri

rockfan, broken arrow (10/12/2009 6:09:10 PM)

RIP ladies.

okie ridgerunner, Small Country Town State Line (10/12/2009 8:52:30 PM)

This is so sad. my condolences to all family members and friends.

Centrist, the burbs (10/13/2009 2:36:41 AM)

Very tragic, I hope the 8 year old girl recovers quickly and is kept as pain free as possible. Condolences to the families of those lost.

O, Tulsa (10/13/2009 6:33:54 AM)

The event was very tragic but now that I've learned they were members of a Masonic Sister's organization makes it even more so for me. Thank you gallant ladies for all the good you did and the lives you affected while here on earth. We(Masons and related organizations) are losing far too many individuals such as these without a wreck that could have been avoided.

Ryanoceros, Tulsa (10/13/2009 9:47:15 AM)

"Fulgham and the three women in her van died at the scene after being pinned inside the vehicle for about five hours."

Is that a typo? 5 hours? Does this strike anybody else as a problem?

forkandknife, Tulsa (10/13/2009 9:49:35 AM)

So, the man who fell asleep is getting charged with vehicular manslaughter correct?
God be with the family of the ones who have lost a loved one.

Billie08, (10/13/2009 9:58:33 AM)

I am so sorry to hear of this and I hope the families of these ladies can find comfort and peace.

billy8, Sand Springs (10/13/2009 10:12:07 AM)

The four women where trapped in the van for 5 hours? That doesn't sound right to me, what was the problem, forget about the old people and get the little girl and the rest of the Okies to the hospital first?

O, Tulsa (10/13/2009 10:29:41 AM)

billy8,

What makes you think that didn't happen? I don't know of any rule that says you can't send those who survive to the hospital while you work to get those trapped inside out. Perhaps you can enlighten the rest of us if you know of some law prohibiting such.

To those of you wondering why it could have taken so long are very unaware of the wreck scene. Assuming both vehicles were traveling 60mph that is a 120mph crash and the van was smaller than the pickup truck. I do not know where equipment had to be brought in from nor do I know the circumstances of the removal process. Once the Osage County sheriff's office had adequate personnel on the scene to handle the traffic we had done all we could do and we left. Unfortunately, in these types of events you have too many idiots who want to stop and look and create more problems and run the risk of others getting injured with more wrecks.

O, Tulsa (10/13/2009 10:31:47 AM)

Billie08,

As the song goes "It's not what you take with you when you go but it's what you leave behind". From the reports of those who knew them they indeed left a lot behind.

OKIE MEDIC, (10/13/2009 11:00:54 AM)

billy8, I'm sure picking and choosing wasn't the case. Although there is a specific protocol of triaging patients, many, many crashes have extended extrication times. With speeds continung to go upward as well as the fact they suffered impacts from both front and back, it is easy to realize the extent of vehicle damage. Workers can't simply bend every piece of metal, fiberglass, engine parts and whatever else with only people power, not matter how much we want to. The fact that someone would even ask a question whether one was chosen because of their home state or age, especially without knowing the circumstances, is insulting to every person who worked that crash or any other for that matter. I realize that it is difficult to fathom such prolonged times with all the rescue equipment available now, but remember the crash involving the semi that critically injured several and killed 10? some of the injured were pinned for hours and still took nearly 8 hours to remove the fatalities. Most medics share the same compassion and care that I have always had. Treat each and every patient as if they are a member of my family- because they are someone's family member. Working in EMS for 18 years now, I can tell you that it is probably not an error or typo of it taking at least 5 hours to extricate them. Unfortunately, high speed crashes often have prolonged extrication times. Well over ten years ago, we worked a semi that rolled onto its side and it took well over 4 hours (with a helicopter on the ground waiting)to get the driver untangled even though he appeared to "hanging" out of the cab. Even worse, the 8 year boy in the sleeper cab took over 8 hours. The truck had to literally be taken apart piece by piece to get to him. While dad survived, the boy did not. To top it all off, mom was following behind them in a car and come up on the scene that traumatic even for those working the scene. No matter how long one works in these types of jobs, removing a seriously injured or in this case a dead child will melt even the coldest of hearts. The only thing one can do is hope and pray that it was immediate with no pain and suffering. Just as family and friends of those suffering illnesses or injuries, most of us still rely on our faiths to help guide us through these events.

GretaSue, (10/13/2009 11:19:47 AM)

God Bless the families of these people involved, and rescue workers like Okie Medic.
Accidents like this are horrific and leave lots of innocent people to suffer the loss of loved ones, and the person responsible for the crash will suffer forever (if he survived) with the thought of this, maybe he had a medical condition or a heart attack / stoke something other than just falling asleep. May they all find peace in their hearts. God Bless