HASKELL COUNTY, Okla., (KFSM) – A Stigler teen was killed after a three-vehicle accident on Oklahoma State Highway 9, just outside of Whitefield, Monday morning (Jan. 19).
Troopers with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the 16-year-old driver was headed eastbound on the highway around 7:30 a.m., when his GMC pickup truck crossed the center line and hit a semi headed westbound. Both the pickup and semi ran off the highway and ended up in a ditch, according to authorities.
The teenager was thrown from his truck and was killed upon impact, troopers said.
There was also a 12-year-old boy in the truck at the time, according to authorities. He suffered head injuries during the accident and was flown by medical helicopter to Saint Francis Hospital, troopers said. He’s currently listed in stable condition at that hospital.
Another GMC pickup truck that was headed westbound struck the debris in the roadway moments after the truck and semi collided and also ended up in the ditch.
Investigators said the teenager killed and the boy who was hurt were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash. Authorities also added that their truck was not equipped with air bags.
The names of the teen killed and the boy hospitalized are not being released due to their age, according to OHP.
Stigler Schools Superintendent Clayton Edwards said the teenager killed was a student at Stigler High School. The boy injured attended Stigler Middle School, Edwards said.
“We’re just asking that people turn to prayers for the families involved, as well as to the school’s family,” Edwards said. “Just pray for us. The students here at the schools really need it right now.”
Administrators say they’ve got counselors on hand at both the high school and middle school as students come back to class Tuesday (Jan. 20) and hear about what happened. Students and faculty were off the day of the accident for the Martin Luther King Day.
The drivers of both the semi and second GMC pickup truck were not injured in the accident, authorities said.
