State Briefs

Published: May 5, 2008

A Texas man died Sunday in a personal watercraft accident on Lake Texoma, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Eric Sorenson, 19, of Sherman was piloting a personal watercraft northeast of North Island just after 5:30 p.m. when another personal watercraft piloted by Robert Slagle, 20, of Sherman hit the vehicle on the left side, the patrol said.

Sorenson died at the scene. Passenger Zachary Slagle 18, of Sherman was taken to a Texas hospital with head injuries in serious condition. Robert Slagle was treated and released with minor injuries, the patrol said.

Two 10-year-old girls, whose names were not released, were taken to a hospital Sunday evening after driving an all-terrain vehicle off a bridge in Oklahoma City. The 4-wheeler dropped about 15 feet into a creek at 10312 S Rockwell.

One girl was flown to Presbyterian Hospital with chest injuries and a broken wrist, said police Sgt. Warren McMullen. The other was taken by EMSA to Presbyterian with a fractured thighbone and facial injuries.

A Pittsburg County jury has determined that a death row inmate is sane enough to be executed, but it's uncertain when the punishment will be carried out.

A jury rejected Garry Thomas Allen's argument that he shouldn't be put to death for the fatal shooting of the mother of his children because he had "become insane” in prison.

A jury convicted Allen, 52, of first-degree murder for killing Lawanna Gail Titsworth on Nov. 21, 1986, in Oklahoma City.

From Staff and Wire Reports