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Family copes after father killed in crash with suspected DUI driver
The Northcott family from left at bottom, Amber, Jessica and Debbie, and at top, Melynie and Mathew, look at family photos. Henry Northcott was recently killed in a head-on collision. RIP STELL/For the Tulsa World
By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
Published: 12/20/2009 7:17 PM
Last Modified: 12/20/2009 7:17 PM
BROKEN ARROW — Henry Northcott had a family ritual for nearly every day of the week.
“American Idol” nights meant pizza. Thursdays, he took his children to music lessons. On football Sundays, his wife and four kids huddled around the tube for cheese dip, taco salad and Northcott’s beloved Dallas Cowboys.
“He was a habit kind of guy,” his wife, Debbie, said.
One Saturday last month, Northcott’s routine came to a crashing halt.
A westbound vehicle driven by Dena Harl, 48, of Claremore, swerved across two lanes on East Kenosha Street in Broken Arrow and struck an eastbound truck driven by Northcott, 40, on Nov. 7, police said. He never recovered from injuries suffered in the head-on collision and died Dec. 2 at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa.
“I just want the kids to remember their dad,” Debbie said in a telephone interview last week. “I haven’t been able to put up the (Christmas) tree, yet. The support we have gotten from all our friends and family is just overwhelming. It’s just amazing the love that everybody’s given Henry and us.”
Transported to the hospital with internal bleeding, Northcott had a lacerated liver and a right leg broken in two places, Debbie said. His left leg was pushed through his pelvis, she said.
“If you would have seen that hospital room, you wouldn’t have believed it,” said Richard Moretti, 83, Debbie’s grandfather. “It was really a tragic sight.”
Following the 5:14 a.m. collision — Northcott was on his Tulsa World newspaper route at the time — Broken
Arrow police detected an odor of alcohol on the breath of Harl. Also, testing later found her to be in possession of a Schedule IV prescription mediation, or controlled drug, Broken Arrow police Capt. Greg Sipes said.
Blood was drawn from Harl, who hasn’t been arrested because she was admitted to a hospital, Sipes said.
“Once we can get the blood results back on this, we will file an ... affidavit with the district attorney,” said Sipes, adding that Harl hasn’t been charged.
Harl has a history of drunken-driving crimes.
She has two DUI convictions (1998 and 2000) in Rogers County. She pleaded guilty to a DUI misdemeanor in Tulsa County in 1994 and to a public drunkenness charge in 1992. Two years ago in Rogers County, she pleaded guilty to controlled substance and drug paraphrenalia counts.
Harl, who graduated from Rogers County’s drug court program in August, spent 11 months in Department of Corrections custody in 2000, a DOC spokesman said.
Twenty days before the Broken Arrow collision, she was stopped at 2:21 a.m. while driving on Oklahoma 66 in Claremore, records show. Admitting to police to taking a Valium and drinking alcoholic beverages before driving, she blew a 0.06 percent on an alcohol breath test and later was charged with driving while impaired, documents indicate.
The legal limit for driving while intoxicated is .08 percent.
Immediately following her husband’s death, Debbie said she downplayed the circumstances surrounding the collision, which occurred on the birthday of their oldest daughter, Melynie, 20.
“I didn’t want (Harl’s) name to be present at the funeral because I wanted people to celebrate Henry’s life,” Debbie said. “She already stole my husband. I didn’t want her to steal any joy from his celebration.”
A telephone number listed for Harl in police records is no longer in service, according to a phone recording.
Both Henry and his wife held jobs as independent contractors for the Tulsa World. Henry also drove a forklift for another company, Debbie said.
“He would come over here periodically to visit,” Moretti said. “He would sit down in a chair. He couldn’t keep his eyes open because he was so damn tired all the time.”
Henry still managed to squeeze in plenty of time with loved ones.
He chauffeured to lessons his son, Matthew, 12, (drums) and daughters Jessica, 14, (bass guitar) and Amber, 15, (guitar). The family also made it a point to have sit-down suppers together, Debbie said.
And when the Dallas Cowboys and NASCAR had television conflicts, Henry always had a solution, his wife said.
“He would have two TVs in the living room watching both things at once,” Debbie said. “Or he would DVR NASCAR and watch football.”
The couple had been married 21 years.
“He was a good kid,” Moretti said. “I really felt bad about this. I’ve been through some thick and thin in my time, wars and the whole bit. But this really hurt me.”
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Reader comments for this page have been moved to the most updated version of the story, now under the headline "
Fatal crash leaves hole in family," which was published on 12/21/2009. So far, 34 comments have been made.
