Tulsa man dies in traffic accident

A Tulsa, Okla., man was killed in a single-vehicle accident at 5:11 p.m. Tuesday on the Interstate 44 Will Rogers Turnpike, about four miles west of Afton in Ottawa County, Okla., according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Roy Dean Kennedy, 57, died at the scene in the westbound lanes on I-44, the state patrol said.

The patrol said Kennedy was driving a westbound Chevrolet Tahoe that swerved and ran off the roadway, traveling 700 feet on the shoulder and into a ditch before returning to the roadway, going into a broad slide and becoming airborne before coming down on the roadway again, rolling two and a half times and coming to rest on its top.

n A Miller man was injured in a single-vehicle accident at 12:05 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 96, two miles east of Carthage in Jasper County, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

David L. Harris, 53, was taken to McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital in Carthage, the patrol said.

Harris was driving an eastbound car that ran off the road and overturned, the patrol said.

n A Joplin man suffered serious injuries in a motorcycle accident at 11:43 a.m. Wednesday on old U.S. Highway 71, five miles south of Joplin, the state patrol said.

Stephen M. Wallace, 56, was taken to Freeman Hospital West in Joplin, the patrol said.

Wallace was riding a northbound motorcycle that ran off the road on a curve and overturned, the patrol said.

n Three people were injured in a three-vehicle accident at 7:50 a.m. Wednesday on U.S. Highway 160, about a mile west of Mindenmines in Barton County, the state patrol said.

All three drivers were injured, the patrol said. Raymond E. Canet, 81, of Mindenmines, was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Joplin with serious injuries, the patrol said. The other two drivers, Gary J. Carter, 64, of Pittsburg, Kan., and Summer D. Gepford, 30, of Mindenmines, were taken to Mount Carmel Regional Medical Center in Pittsburg with moderate injuries, the patrol said.

Carter was driving an eastbound vehicle that crossed the centerline of the highway when he became blinded by the sun, the patrol said. His vehicle struck the westbound cars of Canet and Summer, the patrol said.

n A Joplin man and a Carthage man were injured in related motorcycle accidents at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday on River Road, one mile south of Joplin in Newton County, the state patrol said.

Jimmie D. Collins, 23, of Joplin, was taken to St. John’s Regional Medical Center with moderate injuries, the patrol said.

Collins was riding a westbound motorcycle and lost control while watching another motorcycle accident in front of him, the patrol said. Collins’ bike ran off the road, and he was thrown off it, the patrol said.