A 58-year-old Tulsa man is dead after his vehicle rolled over multiple times on the Turner Turnpike in Creek County Sunday night, according to state troopers. Thomas Hess died following the crash, which happened in the westbound lanes of Interstate 44 near mile marker 221 at approximately 6:58 p.m.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Hess made an unsafe lane change and struck another vehicle, a collision that sent his car rolling multiple times, as reported by News On 6. Hess was injured in the crash and later died, while the driver of the other vehicle was not reported injured.
Troopers Had Already Flagged the Corridor
The stretch of the Turner Turnpike running through Creek County has drawn scrutiny from state troopers before this latest crash. Nearly a year earlier, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol pledged to step up enforcement along the corridor after what it called an inexplicable spike in construction-zone crashes, according to eu.oklahoman.com.
That same report cited a trooper saying a majority of the crashes involved distracted driving, often tied to drivers using their cellphones, though that figure comes from a search-result snippet tied to the broader enforcement push rather than Sunday's crash specifically. It is not known whether distraction played any role in the collision that killed Hess.
A Pattern of Fatal Wrecks on the Same Highway
Sunday's crash adds to a string of deadly incidents reported along the Turner Turnpike in recent years. In August 2026, two people were killed and a semi-truck driver was hurt in a crash involving a horse trailer near Sapulpa, according to KFOR. In May 2025, a 57-year-old passenger was pronounced dead at the scene of a separate fatal crash on the turnpike, per KTUL.
Earlier wrecks follow the same grim pattern. A 2023 semi crash near the Kellyville exit killed two people, as reported by fox23.com, and a multi-vehicle crash on November 30, 2022, also left two people dead on the same highway, according to KOCO.
No additional details about the other driver involved in Sunday's crash, including identity or vehicle description, have been released. It is not yet known whether any citations or further enforcement action will follow.
