Sunday Drives Turn Deadly In Green Country

Sunday was a deadly day on Oklahoma roads.  Three people died near the Port of Catoosa in a head-on crash; a fourth person was sent to the hospital.  The News On 6's Dan Bewley reports investigators are still searching for what caused the car to cross the center line, strike a truck, killing three.

The head-on collision left a crumpled mess.  A blue Acura was smashed, torn into pieces. A pickup truck was crushed and burned. Three people, in their late teens or early 20's, were riding in the Acura. A man, whose age has not been released, was in the truck.

Investigators say the driver of the car crossed the center line, ended up going southbound in the northbound lane. But in front of the truck was another car. That car swerved off the road; the driver of the pick-up didn't have time to react.

"He either couldn't see around the vehicle that was ahead of him or wasn't looking past the vehicle ahead of him. And once it disappeared, wow, there was a crash," said OHP Trooper Ron Hamilton.

The driver of the truck, as well as the female driver of the car and a male passenger died at the scene. A third male passenger from the car was taken to the hospital.

About the same time as the head-on collision, state troopers were on the scene of another, one county away.

"There was a truck with a trailer that crossed the center median and caused a four car pile-up," said OHP Trooper Siloh Hall.

But there was good news, investigators say, after the truck crossed the median oncoming traffic was able to stop.

Near Catoosa, state troopers were busy looking for answers and recreating the steps that led to the deaths of three Sunday travelers.

There's no word on whether any of the passengers were wearing seatbelts.