TULSA Police lab acknowledges backlog

In the follow-up file, the latest on Tuesday night's News on Six story about an accident victim waiting for justice. An accused drunk driver hit Ken McEntire's car in February, the accident put

Friday, August 31st 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

In the follow-up file, the latest on Tuesday night's News on Six story about an accident victim waiting for justice. An accused drunk driver hit Ken McEntire's car in February, the accident put him in intensive care for five days. Rehab was painful, but now McEntire is waiting for his case to be settled.

The suspect, Brad Reaves has been charged with drunk driving, but prosecutors say they need his blood test results from the Tulsa Police lab to move forward. KOTV heard from the lab Thursday, a spokesman acknowledges the lab is backed up. They say the lab is understaffed by two people and they're having a hard time finding qualified applicants. Just last month, the lab reviewed more than 4,000 cases and examined 8,600 items. They have a backlog of 579 items.

The spokesperson says they understand the delays are frustrating, but says no case will be dismissed because of the back up.