Luther, OK : 2-year-old, man die in 1-35 crash on Sunday, April 17, 2016
A 43-year-old Oklahoma City man traveling with a 2-year-old female baby both died from wounds suffered in a fatality collision at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. They were on Interstate 35 southbound, just one-tenth of a mile north of Covell Road, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Conditions were rainy, but the cause of the collision remains under investigation, OHP noted.
David Stephen Blair II, 35, of Midwest City, was injured and transported by EMSA to OU Medical. Blair was admitted in critical condition with head, trunk, internal and external injuries, according to OHP. Blair was driving a 1999 Ford Expedition.
The second passenger in the Ford Expedition was transported to OU Medical Center in critical condition with head, trunk, internal and external injuries.
Seat belts were not in use in the Ford Expedition, but airbags were deployed, according to OHP.
The second vehicle was a 2013 Chrysler Town and Country minivan driven by Philip John Hess, 43, of Oklahoma City. Hess expired at the scene from head, trunk, internal and external injuries. Hess’s body was transported to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Oklahoma City, according to the Highway Patrol.
The 2-year-old died at the scene, according to the report. The baby had sustained head, trunk, internal, and external injuries. She was later taken to the ME’s office in Oklahoma City.
Seatbelts were in use and airbags deployed in the vehicle driven by Hess.
Tandie Dee Hastings of Guthrie, 49, was not injured at the scene while driving a 2016 Honda Pilot. Also in the Honda was 18-year-old Lexi Hastings, who was not injured.
According to the Highway Patrol, the Ford Expedition driven by Blair was northbound on I-35 at a high rate of speed.
“Vehicle one (Ford) departed the roadway to the left into the center barrier crossing the cable and going northbound in the southbound lanes,” the report states. “Vehicle one struck vehicle three (Honda) on the side and continued northbound striking vehicle two head-on.”
OHP stated that seatbelts were in use by passengers in the Honda. However, the airbags did not deploy.
A passerby to the collision, Mark Nottingham of Guthrie, told The Edmond Sun he waited for the crash scene to clear in southbound traffic for one hour and 20 minutes.
“I saw what I thought to be a white minivan in the west ravine of southbound I-35,” Nottingham said. “As I passed the scene of the a accident I saw emergency workers carrying at least two (individuals) to emergency vehicles.
“The white vehicle appeared to have the top pealed off and looked unsurvivable. The maroon vehicle involved in the accident appeared to be a small SUV faced northeast in the right hand lane of southbound I-35.”
Traffic remained backed up two miles north of Waterloo Road and I-35 at 4:15 p.m. Sunday.
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2-year-old, man die in 1-35 crash