2 People Dead After Motorcycle, SUV Crash In Leonard

Two people are dead tonight after OHP said a motorcyclist crashed into the side of an SUV while going through Leonard. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the motorcyclist was driving at high speeds and the driver of the SUV had stopped to turn into the local post office.

We talked to the family of the man who was on the motorcycle. They told us Tyler Jackson of Haskell was 24 and the father of a one-year-old child.

One of the witnesses said, when he saw Jackson go by, he thought to himself 'that driver needs to slow down' just moments before the crash.

"Everybody's in shock. You ought to, No one believes what happened here. They can't believe it. Right in my front door really," said Richard McElhaney. Richard McElhaney passes time every day by watching cars drive past his porch. "I could have pulled across there and I could've been in this," said McElhaney.

McElhaney walked across the street this afternoon to the Leonard Post Office near Highway 64 and 161st East Avenue when he heard a crash. "It was just like a shotgun. It was just like a shotgun. And it's sad to just see innocent lives go to waste," said McElhaney.

Several OHP troopers from surrounding agencies responded. The Bixby Police Department and Bixby Fire Department also assisted, along with EMSA and the Medical Examiner's Office. Bixby Police helped block off traffic for a couple hours.

"We have one goal and that's to put together a whole and complete investigation as well as takin care of the needs of the family at the time," said Lt. Mark Southall, OHP.

McElhaney said the whole thing makes him terribly sad. "That's a horrible sight," said McElhaney.

State troopers say 60-year-old Sheri Tomlinson of Bixby was in the SUV and died at a Tulsa hospital. "Someone's life was changed forever today," said Southall.

He said the motorcyclist was going east, fast and the driver of the SUV was turning left when hit. "It's not a very fast speed limit coming through here. Reduces quite a bit on highway 64 and this is a US Highway that runs through here, but still there's people that cross this road on a daily basis or people that are pulling into the post office," said Southall.

"It's an open country," said McElhaney. McElhaney said it's a tough thing to happen in a small town. "Just please slow down people in Leonard, please, because I live here. It's sad. It's sad," said McElhaney.