Wister man dies in Interstate 40 accident

VIAN, Okla. (AP) A Wister man dies when a vehicle he was sitting in was rear-ended by a van along Interstate 40 in Sequoyah County. <br/><br/>The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says that 20-year-old Omar Garcia-Belasquez

Thursday, June 15th 2006, 6:18 am

By: News On 6

VIAN, Okla. (AP) A Wister man dies when a vehicle he was sitting in was rear-ended by a van along Interstate 40 in Sequoyah County.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says that 20-year-old Omar Garcia-Belasquez was a passenger in a vehicle parked along the shoulder of the highway when a van driven by 40-year-old Martin Thomas Marruffo of Bloy, Arizona, drifted onto the shoulder and struck the first vehicle.

The OHP says that Marruffo fell asleep, causing the accident at about 5:30AM Wednesday. Garcia-Belasquez was taken by helicopter to a Fort Smith, Arkansas, hospital, where he died at 8:10AM.

Marruffo and the four passengers in his van all were treated and released from area hospitals. Three other passengers in Garcia-Belasquez's car also were treated and released.