Weather update: Man dies in wreck caused by icy roads in Oklahoma

By BRYAN DEAN bdean@opubco.com | Published: February 13, 2012

Overnight snow caused traffic tie-ups and some school closures across the state Monday, and an icy highway was blamed in a morning traffic accident that killed a Duncan man.


Lane Franklin sleds down an embankment Monday with his sons, Tyson and Kyzer, in Enid. A winter storm dropped snow on much of the state Sunday and early Monday, with totals as high as 4 to 5 inches in the western parts of Oklahoma and 1 to 2 inches in the Oklahoma City area. The snow prompted several school closures across the state and caused some problems on the roads. See story, Page 9A. Photo by Billy Hefton, Enid News & Eagle/AP

Christopher Brunson, 44, died on State Highway 29 just east of Potts Road.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers said Nicholas Ryan Taylor, 17, of Foster, was driving a van west on the highway about 8 a.m. when he lost control on the icy road, causing the van to spin and go left of center.

Brunson was driving his pickup east on the highway and was hit head-on. Taylor was treated at a hospital and released.

Brunson was taken to a hospital in Duncan and later to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he was pronounced dead about 12:30 p.m.

The snow measured as high as 4 to 5 inches in the western parts of Oklahoma, with about 1 to 2 inches in the Oklahoma City area.

But warmer air moved in just as the snow stopped falling, National Weather Service meteorologist Ty Judd said.

“We were up above freezing by midmorning,” Judd said. “Pretty much everything that was on the roads was pretty well gone by that point. It was worse for the people out west. It hit a little earlier in the evening. When it came into the metro, a lot of people were inside already.”

Ambulance crews responded to 30 vehicle crashes in the Oklahoma City area from 9 p.m. Sunday through Monday afternoon, and paramedics took 14 people to hospitals to be treated for injuries, all before 11 a.m., said Lara O'Leary, Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman.

The University of Oklahoma and the University of Central Oklahoma started classes late Monday. Many school districts in the western part of the state closed for the day, but most metro school districts were open.

The winter weather won't last, as Tuesday's forecast calls for a high of 57 degrees.

Toolsview all

 




Leave a Comment

Thank you for joining our conversation on NewsOK.com. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy. Please help by flagging comments that violate these guidelines. Posts that contain obscene or vulgar language will be immediately flagged and not posted.

If you prefer your thoughts to appear in The Oklahoman, we encourage you to submit a letter to the editor.

Would you like to leave a comment?

Log in or sign up (it's free).

comments powered by Disqus