Driver Hits Embankment While Fleeing Tulsa Police

Dee Duren, NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Two men were injured in a crash after the driver sped away from a Tulsa police officer trying to pull him over for erratic driving. The truck struck the center embankment on 15th Street just east of Harvard, ramped into a tree and flipped over on its hood.

It took Tulsa emergency crews almost an hour to free one of the men from the badly damaged vehicle.

The pursuit started just after 11 p.m. Saturday when Captain Sean King saw a white pickup going northbound on Lewis near 15th Street. The vehicle was traveling 55 to 60 mph through a construction zone in the rain, King said, so he tried to pull the truck over.

Instead, the driver accelerated, cut through the Reasor's parking lot at 15th and Lewis then went eastbound on 15th at speeds accident investigators believe hit 100 mph. Captain King said he followed the vehicle but decided to call off the pursuit. He then spotted a trail of debris several blocks long.

The pickup had continued down the center of 15th Street and hit the brick center median at Indianapolis. The truck went airborne, crashing into trees about 15 to 20 feet up. The vehicle finally came to a stop at 15th and Jamestown on its top.

The sound of the crash drew residents from the area from as far as several blocks away.

The passenger, 34-year-old Ashley Yocum, was quickly freed from the wreck and taken to the hospital. Police discovered Yocum has outstanding warrants for his arrest.

Police, fire and medical crews worked for nearly an hour to free driver Scott Holt from the wreck. The 39-year-old Holt who was badly injured but coherent when he was pulled from the cab of the pickup. 

Yocum was to be treated and released to the Tulsa Police Department. Holt was taken into surgery then will be released to police.