A pedestrian was hospitalized Wednesday after being struck by a semi-truck near the junction of Interstate 35 and State Highway 33 in Logan County, authorities said. The truck's driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, while officials have not yet released information about what caused the collision.
The crash was reported near Guthrie, according to News 9, which reported the incident as a developing story. The outlet confirmed the semi-truck driver remained on scene and is working with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol as the investigation continues, though no cause has yet been announced.
The exact circumstances of the strike, including where along the interchange the pedestrian was walking and why they were near the high-speed corridor, remain unclear. The pedestrian's identity and condition have not been released as the case develops.
A Dangerous Stretch of Highway With a Troubled History
This isn't the first deadly or severe wreck to hit this corridor. Just weeks earlier, two people died when a Jeep collided with a commercial truck along Guthrie's Highway 33, and a separate single-vehicle crash on the same highway killed two more people in a fiery crash at Ritzhaupt Park, both reported in September. Highway 33 stretches 239.3 miles east to west and connects Guthrie directly to Interstate 35.
Pedestrian fatalities have also occurred along nearby interstates. A man died crossing I-35 in Oklahoma City in September after a driver who checked on him then fled, and a person was killed near Tecumseh Road in Norman along the same interstate corridor. Further back, an April 2021 crash investigated by Oklahoma Highway Patrol on I-35 south of Guthrie near mile marker 149 killed three people, including a pedestrian struck near a highway rest area, according to Guthrie News Page.
What Oklahoma Law Says About Walking Near Highways
Oklahoma statutes governing pedestrian traffic require people walking along highways without sidewalks to stay on the left shoulder, facing oncoming traffic, and to yield the right-of-way to approaching vehicles. Separately, state law allows transportation authorities to prohibit pedestrians and other non-motorized traffic from using controlled-access roadways such as interstates, a restriction relevant near interchanges like the one where I-35 meets Highway 33.
Pedestrians accounted for 13 percent of all traffic deaths statewide during that five-year span, according to an analysis of Oklahoma car accident statistics.
Statewide, overall traffic fatalities have actually been trending downward, dropping 9.3 percent from 711 in 2023 to 645 in 2024, per federal figures compiled by the Addison Law Firm.
As the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's investigation continues, officials have not said whether speed, visibility, or right-of-way factors played a role in the collision.
