TRAFFIC accident on Highway 412 closes road for a short time

An early morning traffic accident Thursday, sent several people to the hospital and shut down part of a local highway briefly. It happened about a mile south of the Keystone Dam in the eastbound lane

Thursday, July 5th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

An early morning traffic accident Thursday, sent several people to the hospital and shut down part of a local highway briefly. It happened about a mile south of the Keystone Dam in the eastbound lane of state highway 412.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says around 4:45 AM, a van carrying four people pulled off the eastbound lane to investigate an odor of smoke. That's when the driver of a Dodge pick-up came up behind, ran off the road, struck the van and then rolled the truck into the middle of the highway. All five people were transported to Tulsa hospitals, one by helicopter. Troopers say the accident appears to the result of drinking and driving. Trooper Joe Hendren: "There's definitely beer cans around the Dodge vehicle that was involved. And we also smelled the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on the driver of the black Dodge."

The eastbound lane of the highway was closed for about an hour and a half for clean up.