Woman Charged With Manslaughter, DUI For Fatal Tulsa Crash Involving Fire Truck

Tulsa County prosecutors have filed five counts of manslaughter against the driver of a car that slammed into a fire truck, killing four people and an unborn baby.

Prosecutors say Keiosha Rucker had cocaine and marijuana in her system at the time of the crash.

The victims killed were 23-year-old Tamia Ray, 5-year-old Keylani Jones, 4-year-old Makiya Chatmon and 1-year-old Aiziah Jones. The woman who lost her baby was nearly 25 weeks into her pregnancy.

Police say Keiosha Rucker pulled out in front of a fire truck when it was running lights and sirens to a call.

The crash happened Feb. 26th and the impact sent the car off the road and into a telephone pole. Keiosha Rucker, the driver, and the woman who lost her baby were the only survivors.

In addition to the five counts of first-degree manslaughter, Rucker is also charged with driving under the influence of drugs and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.

The probable cause affidavit says a toxicology report showed that Rucker tested positive for cocaine and marijuana at the time of the crash and prosecutors are waiting on blood results from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

The affidavit also says Rucker was driving without a license when the crash happened. Tulsa police Captain Richard Meulenberg says this tragedy was a culmination of several poor decisions that all could have been prevented.

"They should know already, find me one human being that thinks it's okay to be high driving a car full of kids, no one is going to say it's okay," says Meulenberg.

Police say the Fugitive Warrants Unit has been assigned to Rucker's case, and they expect to take her into custody soon.

Story Timeline:

The crash happened early on February 26th when the Tulsa fire truck was responding to reports of a building fire. According to police reports, the driver of a car turned in front of a Tulsa fire truck as it drove down 41st Street, between Harvard and Yale.

Tulsa Fire Department Public Information Officer Andy Little said the firetruck was running lights and sirens while passing through the intersection. According to Tulsa Police, that was when a white Hyundai turned south onto New Haven Ave. and the firetruck collided with the passenger vehicle.

The collision sent the car over a sidewalk and into a telephone pole. Police said that the firefighters from the truck were not injured and immediately started to render life-saving measures to the occupants of the car.

Little said first responders reacted quickly, using extrication equipment to free the trapped occupants from the vehicle. 

There were six people in the car, three adults and three children at the time of the crash. Police also said that one of the passengers was a 26-year-old woman in her second trimester who miscarried the baby. The 4-year-old, 1-year-old, 5-year-old, and 23-year-old passenger died as a result of the crash. The five manslaughter counts are four the four deaths, and the death of the unborn child.