OHP: Alcohol And Speed Lead To Fatal Osage Co. Crash

NewsOn6.com

Editor's note:  An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the driver of the vehicle was 17-year-old James Richard Byrd of Barnsdall.  He was only a passenger and had not been drinking.

AVANT, OK -- The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a 17-year-old Barnsdall teen died of injuries he received in a one-vehicle accident west of Avant Thursday evening in Osage County.

Troopers say a Jeep Grand Cherokee was eastbound on a county road at a high rate of speed when, according to the driver, a dog ran across the road, causing the driver to take evasive action.

The Jeep left the roadway, hitting a culvert, rolling once before going airborne and landing on its wheels.

The OHP says the driver, a 19-year-old Avant man, and 17-year-old James Richard Byrd of Barnsdall, were both transported to a Tulsa hospital.

A second passenger, 17-year-old James Hollifield of Barnsdall, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Troopers say the driver of the Jeep, 19-year-old Gary Wayne Bales, was intoxicated at the time of the crash.