By John Dobberstein, Editor
Residents are calling for changes at a Tulsa County intersection after a young Glenpool student was killed in a multi-car accident Monday.
The crash occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m. at the intersection of Oklahoma Highway 67 (151st Street) near Warrior Road. Five vehicles were involved, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.
According to OHP, 3 vehicles were stopped in the eastbound, left turn lane of OK-67 waiting to turn onto Warrior when a vehicle turned left across westbound OK-67.
A vehicle that was westbound on OK-67 then departed the roadway to the left, causing a trailer in tow to roll over and struck two vehicles in the turn lane. One of them spun into the eastbound lanes and was struck by an oncoming vehicle.
A 9-year-old boy who was the left-rear passenger in the vehicle that was spun into the travel lanes was pronounced dead at the scene. The injured driver and three other injured passengers in that car were taken by ambulance to a hospital. All in the car were wearing their seatbelts.
In a statement, Glenpool Public Schools announced the death and noted that students riding a bus when the accident occurred witnessed parts of the incident and the bus was hit by debris. The students were not harmed and were immediate take to the elementary school.
“This tragedy has shaken our school community, and we understand that many will be feeling shock and grief,” the district said, noting counseling services would be made available to students.
Many residents commenting on social media said renewed demands for traffic lights or other measures at the intersection to reduce motorist speeds and make the road safer.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said Wednesday it would evaluate the site conditions for safety, which is standard after any fatal crash on an interstate or state highway.
But ODOT added that several months ago the agency expedited a safety study on OK-67/151st S. near US-75 to help determine solutions more quickly. ODOT expects the study to be complete by the end of the year.
“The specific improvements and locations have not been determined but will be done in consultation with the City of Glenpool and driven by collision and other data along the corridor,” ODOT said.
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