Wrecks today and Friday kill six

Published: July 26, 2008

Six people, three of them driving motorcycles, died in wrecks on state roads late Friday and early Saturday, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

Dead are:

Jason Charles Patterson, 34, Mooreland.

Patterson died Friday in Blaine County north of Watonga when a pickup attempting a pass in an intersection struck his motorcycle, the patrol said.

About 5:30 p.m., Angeline Sankey, 40, of Canton was northbound on State Highway 8 when she stopped her pickup to make a left turn at an intersection, the patrol said. Two other pickups, the first driven by Teresa Lynn Hays-Kuehn, 52, of Whitney, Texas, and the second by Ginger Lynn Merrill, 33, of Enid, attempted to pass Sankey.

Hays-Kuehn’s pickup passed by without striking another vehicle, but Merrill’s pickup collided with Sankey’s and then struck the southbound Patterson’s motorcycle head-on, the patrol said. Patterson was thrown from the motorcycle and died at the scene.

Hays-Kuehn, Sankey and her passenger Perry W. Brooks, 40, of Watonga were not hurt, the patrol said. Merrill was treated and released at a Watonga hospital.

Patterson’s passenger, Misty Fargo, 23, was flown to OU Medical Center and admitted in guarded condition, the patrol said. Troopers do not know Fargo’s hometown.

All in the pickups were wearing seat belts, the patrol said. Patterson and Fargo were not wearing helmets.

The wreck is still under investigation.

Macneil D. Passi, 26, Anadarko.

Passi died Friday in Caddo County west of Anadarko when his motorcycle struck a pickup he was attempting to pass, the patrol said.

About 5:35 p.m., Passi was westbound on Park Road at a high rate of speed when he tried to pass Jessica Nicole Pedersen, 17, of Anadarko, the patrol said. Pedersen was attempting to turn left into a private drive and Passi’s motorcycle struck her pickup on the driver’s side.

Passi was thrown from his motorcycle and died at the scene, the patrol said. Pedersen and her passengers, Brandon Pedersen, 15, and Maxwell L. Franklin, 15, both of Anadarko, were not hurt.

The Pedersens and Franklin were wearing seat belts, the patrol said. Troopers did not say if Passi was wearing a helmet.

In its preliminary accident report, the patrol said Passi’s pass was improper.

Ronald E. Main II, 20, Beaver.

Main died Friday in Beaver County north of his hometown when he collided head-on with a pickup that crossed left of center, the patrol said.

About 11:30 p.m., Main was southbound in his car on U.S. 270 when a northbound pickup driven by David Ratliff, 38, of Forgan went left of center on a curve, the patrol said. Ratliff’s pickup struck Main’s car on the driver’s side, and both vehicles went into a ditch.

Main died at the scene, the patrol said. Ratliff and his passengers, Brian Van Meter, 33, of Atkinson, Neb., and two children were not hurt.

All were wearing seat belts, and the youngest child was in a safety seat, the patrol said.

David Gallagher, 54, Haworth.

Gallagher died Friday in McCurtain County east of Idabel when a car struck his pickup and knocked him off the road, the patrol said.

About 11:35 p.m., Gallagher was westbound on State Highway 3 when another car rear-ended him, forcing his pickup off the right side of the roadway, the patrol said. Gallagher’s pickup rolled and came to rest on the driver’s side.

Gallagher, who was wearing a seat belt, died at the scene, the patrol said.

Troopers said the driver of the other car, a 2000 Chrysler, left the scene. The patrol towed the car away and is attempting to determine who was driving. No passenger was listed on the preliminary accident report.

The cause of the wreck is still under investigation.

Charles E. Hedvig, 25, Oklahoma City.

Hedvig died Saturday in Oklahoma City when he lost control of his motorcycle and was thrown off an elevated highway, the patrol said.

About 2:25 a.m., Hedvig was westbound on Interstate 44 just west of N Western Avenue when he lost control on a curve and struck a barrier wall, the patrol said. Hedvig was thrown from the motorcycle, over the barrier and onto a vacant lot below the freeway.

Hedvig, who was not wearing a helmet, died at the scene, the patrol said.

In its preliminary accident report, the patrol said Hedvig was driving too fast for the curve.

Farrah Lloyd, 23, Wister.

Lloyd died Saturday in LeFlore County south of Summerfield when she ran off the roadway in a pickup and struck a tree, the patrol said.

About 6:35 a.m., Lloyd was southbound on U.S. 271 when her pickup ran off the right side of the road and struck several road signs, the patrol said. She overcorrected to the left, ran off the road again and struck a tree.

Lloyd was pinned in the pickup for about an hour and a half and died at the scene, the patrol said. Her passenger, Casey Lloyd, 25, of Wister was treated and released at a Poteau hospital.

Neither was wearing a seat belt, the patrol said.

The cause of the wreck is still under investigation.