A person died and another person was recovering in a local hospital in critical condition after a head-on collision in Tulsa.
Police who investigated the accident said that the driver of a pickup truck was traveling on a city street with two-way traffic. For some reason, the driver crossed over the center of the highway and slammed into a vehicle going the opposite direction.
The person who was in the vehicle going the correct direction died at the scene of the accident. The driver of the pickup also suffered serious injuries.
The police offered no explanation for why the driver of the pickup crossed into the path of oncoming traffic.
Head-on collisions can happen easily when drivers aren’t careful
This case may serve as a useful reminder to Oklahoma residents about how easy it is to be involved in a head-on collision at high speeds.
Many of the Tulsa’s streets and expressways, including those where drivers typically travel above 40 miles per hour, are two-way traffic, where only a foot or two separate vehicles going in opposite directions.
Moreover, many of Oklahoma’s rural roads and highways are also two lane.
Of course, drunk, drugged, and even drowsy drivers are likely to cause a serious head-on collision since they tend to drift out of their lanes.
However, even someone who is texting and driving, trying to make a phone call, eating or just not paying full attention to the road for some other reason can easily wind up in the path of an oncoming vehicle.
Likewise, drivers who do not adjust for factors like high wind or heavy rain, both common in Oklahoma, can wind up sliding across the center of a road an into the wrong lane.
Drivers have to take care to stay in their own lane of traffic. If they fail to do so for whatever reason, they or their insurance companies may owe compensation.