Man Rams Van Causing Pile Up On Highway 169 In Tulsa

Tulsa Police say a man rammed several vehicles on his way to the Tulsa Airport. He is being booked into jail Saturday morning.

Sergeant Robert Rohloff said 40-year-old Teriiura Anuu rammed a van, forcing it into another vehicle and completely off the road. That caused several other vehicles including a semi truck to wreck just before 8:30 a.m. It happened in the northbound lanes of Highway 169 around 31st Street.

All of the vehicles were badly damaged enough to require towing. At least one light pole was taken out.

Anuu abandoned his car and flagged down a passing car. Rohloff said the driver of that car was concerned but drove Anuu to the airport as requested.

Anuu then tried to check in at the airport but did not have a ticket, he said. Tulsa police arrested him as he wandered around the airport grounds.

Rohloff said Anuu is known to police and has experienced some mental problems that are aggravated by drug use. Anuu was booked on complaints of driving under the influence and five counts of hit and run.

Police believe he was riding a bicycle earlier Saturday morning while wearing either just underwear or a towel near his home in East Tulsa. Anuu reportedly then decided to go see his mother in California and drove to the airport.

The crashes on Highway 169 backed up traffic for some time. Police initially thought that only one person had been transported to the hospital; however, EMSA reports that they took four patients, all adults, all in fair condition.