By Greg Grisolano
news@joplinglobe.com
Nine people — including a family from Oklahoma City and a 7-year-old boy from Texas — are among the dead after a tractor-trailer caused a seven-car pileup on the Will Rogers Turnpike Friday.
Authorities released the names of the deceased on Saturday.
A 12-year-old girl from Phoenix, Ariz., was in critical condition after being flown to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Kan.
Those killed include Ethan Hayes, 7; Randall Hayes, 38; both of Frisco, Tex.; and Cynthia Olson, 55, of Crossroads, Tex., who were all trapped in the same car for more than eight hours. Randall Hayes’ wife, Shelby Hayes, 35, was flown to Freeman Hospital in Joplin, where she was listed in critical condition.
The Hooks family — 69-year-old Oral, 63-year-old Earlene, 42-year-old Antonio and 41-year-old Dione, all of Oklahoma City — also was pronounced dead on the scene. The Highway Patrol report said they were pinned for more than seven hours before rescuers could reach them.
Ricardo Reyes, 39, and his wife Ernestina Reyes, age unknown, both of Phoenix, Ariz., were also pronounced dead at the scene. The couple’s daughter, 12-year-old Andrea Reyes, was flown to Children’s Mercy with head, arm, leg, trunk and internal injuries. She is listed in serious condition, according to a hospital spokesperson.
The crash occurred at 1:16 p.m. Friday in the eastbound lane at mile marker 321, near the Oklahoma-Missouri border.
The Highway Patrol report stated that traffic was already at a standstill due to a minor wreck when a tractor-trailer unit driving full speed allegedly failed to slow down and collided with another car. That vehicle was spun out of the way, and the truck struck two more cars, which set off a chain reaction in which seven vehicles were damaged or destroyed. The tractor-trailer unit eventually came to rest on top of three of the vehicles.
The truck driver, Donald Creed, 76, of Willard, Mo., was treated and released from Freeman Hospital on Saturday, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Also released from Freeman on Saturday was Marcella Smith, 62, of Tulsa. Another injury victim, Synthia Tate, 52, of Waynesville, Mo., was listed in fair condition by a hospital spokesperson.
The turnpike’s eastbound lanes were closed for more than eight hours before they eventually reopened by 9 p.m. on Friday.
Investigation
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. George Brown told The Associated Press that a criminal investigation is under way, as is routine after a fatal accident. Blood was drawn from the truck driver, Brown said. There was no indication alcohol was involved, he said.
Patrol Capt. Chris West said local prosecutors will decide if any charges are warranted after the investigation is complete.
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