OCPD investigates fatal crash tied to speed, suspected impairment; charges possible

Oklahoma City police released new details on Tuesday on a three-car crash that killed a 75-year-old woman last week. Bob Mills Sky News 9 flew over the scene in Northwest Oklahoma City.

Police said the driver responsible for the crash was speeding and had signs of impairment. The department's Signal 30 Unit completed and released that crash report this week. Their investigation could lead to charges against the driver accused of killing the woman.

Behind the door leading into the Signal 30 Unit offices are the mathematicians of the department.

“There’s speed formulas, time formulas, distance formulas, momentum formulas,” said Lt. James Williams, Oklahoma City Police Department.

The unit’s most experienced investigator is Master Sergeant Bob Atkins with 25 years under his belt.

“When I first started, we used a roller tape to measure everything,” said Msgt. Bob Atkins, Oklahoma City Police Department. “By hand.”

Atkins credits technology for making his job easier and more efficient. Investigators launched a drone over the crash at Northwest 150th street and Portland Avenue to document the deadly scene last Tuesday.

“Sometimes there’s up to two, 300, 500 pictures,” said Atkins. 

Those photos are put in a computer program to reconstruct the scene in layers.

“That’s the diagram that goes into the collision report,” said Atkins.

Investigators not only document a collision scene for the report, but they are also looking to see if a crime was involved. Lieutenant James Williams said the three-car crash on the northwest side of the city involved speed and intoxication.

“And evaluation was done by a drug recognition expert a DRE,” said Lt, James Williams, Oklahoma City Police Department. “Officers at the scene noticed signs of impairment.”

The impaired driver rear-ended a 75-year-old woman who police say was stopped to turn left. The impact forced her into the opposite lane, where she was hit head-on by another truck, killing the woman at the scene.

The unit's supervisor said the hardest part of the job is telling the victim's families.

“We try to give them comfort in a way if they have questions, we want to have answers for them and tell them exactly what happened,” said Williams.

The Signal 30 unit also investigates auto-pedestrian crashes.

They have started programs to help reduce the number of deadly auto-peds in the city, which they said are helping.

Police are waiting for blood test results from the driver accused in the deadly three-car crash before the case is turned over to the Oklahoma County District Attorney's office. The driver has not been arrested.