Pursuit involving stolen truck crosses Tulsa airport runways, causes fatal crash

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Authorities are searching for a driver who led police on a pursuit that crossed two runways at Tulsa’s airport then resulted in a fatal head-on crash on U.S. 75 north of downtown.

Tulsa television station KOTV reports (http://bit.ly/2rPUDX8 ) that the chase began early Wednesday near Sapulpa and involved a stolen utility truck. Police say the truck crashed through a locked gate at Tulsa International Airport and crossed two runways.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Dwight Durant said a trooper right behind the truck saw a commercial airliner about to take off so he used his cruiser to try to spin out the truck. Durant said it’s OHP policy not to try a tactical vehicle intervention maneuver on a truck but the trooper believed he had no choice because he believed the truck was a threat to all the people on that airplane. The trooper tried the maneuver twice but the truck kept going.

The truck crashed through another fence and went west, then got on Highway 75 north of Pine going southbound in the northbound lanes. The truck hit a car head-on, killing the driver of the car, Troopers said. The truck ran off the highway and the driver ran off.

The suspect is described as a white Male in his 20s, heavy-set with shoulder-length hair. He was wearing a red OU hoodie, blue shorts or pants.

The OHP said Highway 75 will likely be closed until at least noon.