Five Killed In SUV Accident

MEDICINE PARK, Okla. (AP) - Excessive speed may have played a role in an accident that killed five people but spared the life of a child, authorities said. Three adults and three children were riding

Saturday, November 24th 2007, 10:10 pm

By: News On 6

MEDICINE PARK, Okla. (AP) - Excessive speed may have played a role in an accident that killed five people but spared the life of a child, authorities said. Three adults and three children were riding in a Ford Explorer at about 4:45 p.m. Friday when the sport utility vehicle tumbled over a guardrail on Interstate 44 near Medicine Park and onto intersecting State Highway 49 below, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.

Troopers identified the adults as Leticia Washington-Brown, 26, of Oklahoma City; Terrence Anthony Nash, 27, of Lancaster, Texas, and Shawntrea Bethane Waters, 28, also of Lancaster, Texas. Washington-Brown was pinned in the wreckage for about 90 minutes and Nash was trapped about 45 minutes before Wichita Mountains firefighters freed them.

Washington-Brown's niece, 8-year-old Del City resident Jabarious Birdine, and Waters' son, 3-year-old Kylen Smiling of Lawton, who was thrown about 62 feet through the back window, also died at the scene, troopers said. Xavien Nash of Lawton, the son of Nash and Waters, suffered head and internal injuries and was transported by medical helicopter to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he was listed in good condition.

According to the incident report, the SUV was traveling south on I-44 at a high rate of speed when it left the road and slid across the guardrail for about 92 feet before striking the overpass. The SUV vaulted for another 90 feet and landed on its top on the state highway, the report stated.

State Highway 49 was closed to traffic for two hours after the accident, OHP trooper Tom Pixton, an investigator, said. Pixton said the cause of the accident was still under investigation.

"We do not believe alcohol or drugs contributed at all to this situation," he said.