SUV Crashes Into Pond, One Dead

Tuesday, November 20th 2007, 5:23 pm

By: News On 6

The driver of the SUV that crashed into the pond has been identified as 59-year-old John Conine of Tulsa. The accident happened Tuesday afternoon just after 2 p.m. on the Will Rogers Turnpike. Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Colby Overstreet tells The News On 6, Conine left the roadway at the Highway 266 ramp near Verdigris.

According to OHP troopers, the vehicle was eastbound on the Rogers Turnpike when it ran off the right side of the road. The vehicle then traveled down an embankment and came to rest in the pond. The driver of the vehicle was submerged in 15 feet of water for about an hour and a half. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

This is not the first time someone has driven off the interstate, into a pond and died. In July 2006, 55-year-old Terry McCollum and her husband, 66-year old Jerry, drowned after their car flew off the Highway 266 ramp and landed in the pond, which is 25 feet deep.

The interchange was built in 2002. There is a sign as drivers approach the curve warning them it's sharp, and that the speed limit is 25-miles per hour.

Watch the video: Off Ramp Proves Deadly

Related Story:

7/5/2006 Couple Drowns In Pond After Car Accident