Tulsa Police Say Body Found On Turnpike May Be Connected To Arby's Vandalism

Emily Baucum and Russell Hulstine, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Tulsa Police are trying to determine if there's a connection between the discovery of a man's body on the Creek Turnpike at the Yale exit ramp and vandalism at an Arby's restaurant at 91st and Yale.

Officers were dispatched to a report of a body lying on the turnpike under the Yale bridge shortly before 2 a.m. Thursday.

They found the body of 34-year-old Andrew Allison.

Tulsa Police say Allison committed suicide sometime early Thursday morning. 

Police say Allison was wearing an Arby's work shirt, which led police to the Arby's at 91st and Yale, which they discovered had been vandalized.

"Inside the store there was damage to a teller machine where they take your order," said Tulsa Police Sgt. Justin Farley.

Arby's closed at midnight and Allison was found dead just two hours later. Officers say it's not clear if Allison vandalized Arby's before taking his own life, or if the crime is just a tragic coincidence.

"We have no witnesses that can place him at the scene of the Arby's and there is no video there at that particular Arby's," Farley said. "We did not locate his bicycle which he was known to ride to work at times, and we also did not locate his vehicle there at the store."

Officers say Allison left work around 3 Wednesday afternoon because he was having a bad day.

When he got home, he called his manager to see if he could take another day off, but then agreed to work.

Police say that was the last time any of the Arby's employees heard from him, including his girlfriend who also works at the restaurant.

"We do know that he was taking some medications and at times, he was encouraged sometimes to take those medications," Farley said.

An Arby's spokesperson says Andrew Allison had worked there for more than six years. The broken glass and equipment were cleaned up by the time customers came in Thursday morning.