Wrong-Way Driver Hits Semi On Will Rogers Turnpike Near Verdigris

A wrong-way driver on the Will Rogers Turnpike struck a semi-tractor trailer at 1:12 a.m. Saturday. The collision took place in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 44 near Verdigris.

A third vehicle then struck the wrong-way driver, according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Brett Bennett.

Erika Elaine Witt of Tulsa was driving a 2008 Ford Taurus westbound in the eastbound lanes at mile marker 243. Witt's car hit the left side fender of the semi and spun around where it was hit by the third vehicle, a Toyota Solara.

Witt, 27, was freed from her car using the jaws of life. She was taken by medical helicopter to a Tulsa hospital where she was admitted in serious condition with head, leg and internal injuries.

A 71-year-old Tuttle man, Ronald Alexander, was driving the truck. He was not injured. Chelsea resident Zachary Joe Walker, 24, was driving the third vehicle. He had minor injuries but refused treatment at the scene.

Witt is suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the wreck, Bennett said in his report.