Dropped Cigarette Blamed For Oklahoma Injury Wreck

NewsOn6.com

GRANT COUNTY, Oklahoma -- A dropped cigarette sparked a car wreck that sent two people to the hospital Friday afternoon, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.  The single-car wreck took place on U.S. Highway 81 near Jefferson Road in Grant County.

Johnny G. Hanson of Odessa, Texas was driving a GMC pickup when he dropped his cigarette. When Hanson reached for the cigarette, the truck ran off the side of the road and flipped about four times, according to a trooper's report.

Hanson's passenger, 37-year-old Marion E. Copley of Odessa, was ejected an unknown distance from the pickup. He was taken to a Kansas hospital in stable condition with head, trunk, arm and leg injuries.

The 33-year-old Hanson was taken to an Enid hospital where he was treated and released.

Hanson was wearing his seat belt; Copley was not. Troopers blamed the wreck on driver distraction.