Dangerous Driving Conditions Turn Deadly

Slick roads in Green Country made for a dangerous morning commute on Wednesday. News On 6 anchor Latoya Silmon reports the Oklahoma Highway Patrol worked more than 50 accidents and at least one of them was fatal.

"It made us busy. We were really busy first thing this morning; starting about 6:30 probably until about nine or 10," said Jerry Glass with Allied Towing of Tulsa.

Slick roads wrecked dozens of commutes across Green Country.

"We had about 10 or 12 accidents we worked," said Glass.

Allied Towing of Tulsa only saw a fraction of the wreckage. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said it worked 52 accidents and the Tulsa Police Department worked more than a dozen wrecks.

Many people lost control of their cars, causing them to run off the road or slam into other drivers. OHP said that's exactly what killed one person on the Will Rogers Turnpike over the Verdigris River.

Troopers said a semi heading eastbound lost control, crossed the center median, slammed through a guardrail, and hit a pick-up going westbound. The pick-up driver, 73-year-old Bobby Etter of Claremore, died. Troopers closed the turnpike westbound which forced commuters to wait in their cars for hours. Jerry Glass said he has seen it all before and that it doesn't take much to keep people safe.

"If they just slow down and take their time; I mean nothing could make you in that big of a hurry. I mean, that's just what I think," said Glass.

Pretreated roads offer another line of defense. The City of Tulsa didn't pre-treat roads. The Public Works Department said it didn't think the weather would warrant it.