The Friday turnpike crash that had already claimed nine lives now stands at ten; in addition, Blair County prosecutors announced this morning that they will, in all probability, press charges. They are awaiting complete toxicology reports to determine if the charges will be negligent homicide or vehicular manslaughter.

Shelby Hayes,35, of Frisco, Texas succumbed early Sunday to her injuries. Three others n the same vehicle, Randall Hayes, 38, Ethan Hayes, 7, and her mother, Cynthia Olson, 55, died at the scene. According to the Dallas Morning News, the family was enroute to a funeral.

Donald Creed of Willard, Mo., the 76-year-old driver of the tractor-trailer which slammed into the cars that were stopped for another accident, could face as many as 10 negligent homicide charges for his role in the accident, Ottawa County’s prosecutor said Monday.

District Attorney Eddie Wyant said that based on what he knows now about Friday’s crash on the Will Rogers Turnpike, the driver of the truck, Creed, could face one count of negligent homicide for each of the 10 people killed in the crash.

According to Wyant, negligent homicide is a misdemeanor punishable upon conviction of a maximum one-year term in the county jail.

Wyant said the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, which is investigating the crash, will not have its report on the accident for at least three weeks, while it awaits toxicology results on Creed, who is recuperating from his injuries at a nearby Joplin, Mo., hospital.

Capt. Chris West, spokesman for the OHP in Oklahoma City, said investigators will probably complete their basic reports sometime this week, but would await the toxicology results before handing the reports over to Wyant.

“We don’t want to hurry,” West said, noting that investigators want to be as accurate as possible.

“What’s most important is that we conduct a thorough and extensive investigation,” West said.

Based on the information he already has, Wyant said it doesn’t appear that the truck driver was under the influence of any substance that could have impaired his abilities on the road.

“But that’s why we’re awaiting the toxicology results,” Wyant said.

If those results show otherwise — that the driver was impaired — Wyant said manslaughter charges could be filed.

Friday’s crash occurred about 1 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of the turnpike, about eight miles northeast of the Miami exit.

The OHP said Creed’s truck failed to slow down as it came upon six vehicles which had come to a standstill on the turnpike because of an earlier wreck.

The tractor-trailer, troopers said, plowed into the vehicles, sending bodies and debris across the highway. The truck came to rest on top of three cars, they said.


Wyant said he hasn’t received any indication so far from authorities on why Creed reportedly failed to slow down for the standstill cars.

“He could have dozed off or he could have been text-messaging,” Wyant said. “”It’s hard to say until I get the final reports,” he said.

But none of that matters, he said. All that matters is that Creed apparently was operating his truck in a negligent manner, and that’s enough for a charge of negligent homicide, Wyant said.

The company of the truck involved issued a statement Monday.

Associated Wholesale Grocers said in a release that it is working with the appropriate authorities while this accident investigation continues.

“Our hearts and prayers pour out to the families and loved ones of those who died in the accident, to all those who were injured, their families and loved ones, as well as our driver and his family,” the news release stated.

Company officials said they would have no further comment on the accident.

Meanwhile, OHP spokesman West said Friday’s death toll was exceeded by a 1974 crash on Interstate 40 which claimed 13 lives.

That accident, he said, occurred between El Reno and Yukon when motorists drove into smoke across the highway, resulting in a huge, chain-reaction pileup.

In May 2002, 14 people were killed at Webbers Falls when a river barge struck a support pier of an Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River, collapsing 500 of the road into the river.

Information Provided by NewsOK.com