Man Sentenced To 15 Years For Fatal Highway 75 Crash

A 20-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 15 years for first-degree manslaughter in the October death of a Tulsa man who died after his truck was struck on Highway 75. 

Police said Tsakururetahkats Shawnee was driving his SUV northbound on Highway 75 on October 4, 2016, when he struck the small pickup driven by 37-year-old John Dabney Jr. just north of I-44. 

10/4/2016 Related Story: One Dead, One Arrested After Fatal Rollover Crash On Highway 75

Dabney was thrown from his truck when it rolled and he was taken to a Tulsa hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

During its investigation of the crash scene, Tulsa police determined a Jeep had been involved in the crash and they found it about a mile north of the scene, sitting on the side of the highway. 

Shawnee was still inside the vehicle when police found the Jeep. 

He was later charged with first-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene of a fatality collision, unlawful possession of a controlled drug and driving under the influence of alcohol.

Shawnee waived his right to a trial and entered a blind plea on April 11, 2017. 

At the sentencing hearing on June 26, Shawnee and the court heard eight victim statements. 

He was sentenced to 15 years in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections with eight years in custody and seven years suspended for the first-degree manslaughter charge, one year in Tulsa County jail for the leaving the scene charge and one year for the unlawful possession charge. The two one-year sentences will run concurrently with the 15-year sentence and he will receive credit for time already served. 

The court dismissed the DUI charge and merged it with the first-degree manslaughter charge.