A driver was killed Wednesday after a pickup truck hit a guardrail on westbound I-244 near South 33rd West Avenue in Tulsa, sending the driver out of the vehicle. The crash left the guardrail blocking traffic lanes and forced authorities to shut down the highway as emergency crews worked the scene.
According to News On 6, the pickup truck driver was ejected from the vehicle after striking the guardrail, and the collision left the barrier blocking the westbound traffic lanes. Authorities closed westbound I-244 in response, and drivers were advised to find an alternate route and expect delays in the area, the station reported.
Closure Near South 33rd West Avenue
The closure affected westbound I-244 in the vicinity of South 33rd West Avenue, a stretch of the highway on Tulsa's west side.
Other Recent Crashes Along the Same Corridor
Wednesday's crash is not the only serious incident reported on westbound I-244 in Tulsa in recent memory. In a separate rollover crash near Memorial, two juvenile passengers were ejected from their vehicle and taken to a hospital with injuries the Oklahoma Highway Patrol described as non-life-threatening, according to newson6.com. Troopers in that case said alcohol use and impairment were suspected, and all westbound lanes were closed beginning at 3:22 p.m. while crews cleared the scene.
In another unrelated fatal crash near the I-244/I-44 interchange, OHP troopers identified the driver as 45-year-old Mark Owens, saying he left the westbound I-244 roadway, struck a sign and then struck a bridge support; EMSA officials pronounced him dead at the scene, per the same source. A different crash at I-44 and I-244 left two people dead and four others injured, according to okcfox.com, which cited the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. A wrong-way collision on westbound I-244 near South Greenwood Avenue also killed two people, with ktul.com reporting that OHP said the crash remained under investigation.
Those incidents are separate from Wednesday's fatal guardrail crash and do not establish a pattern or rate of crashes along the corridor. No further details on the cause of Wednesday's crash, the driver's identity, or the duration of the westbound closure were available at the time of reporting.
