By Joey McWilliams
DURANT – On Monday afternoon, the Durant Police Department and Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troop E held a joint press conference to address the progress on the investigation and events of the day. Late Sunday night, a tragic car wreck took the lives of four Durant teenagers and left a mark on the town and the county.
“It’s a sad day for Durant and Bryan County as this has been a tragic Memorial Day event,” OHP Capt. Scott Hampton said.
The Durant PD responded to a call about midnight Monday morning about a traffic incident at the intersection of Main Street and Radio Road in Durant. Police Chief David Houser spoke about his team’s response and the further investigation.
“Upon arrival, our officers found two vehicles that had collided,” Houser said. “Out of that crash, there were four juveniles in one of the cars and a single driver in the other. The single occupant car struck the other vehicle in the rear causing a significant amount of damage and two deaths immediately. The other ones were in critical condition. (Both have since passed.)
“The investigators assigned to the scene are currently doing everything that they can, including reaching out to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Homicide Division to help us with their technical assistance and their expertise in that homicide investigation, as well.”
Hampton said the departments would be putting together an investigative packet jointly and then will consult with the district attorney and then would make a ruling as to how to proceed.
He also said they would be seeking help from the public.
“One of the things we need is if anybody from the public has any footage of the roadway, U.S. 70, either from 21st and Main out to the collision scene near Radio Road, or just check all your cameras along First Avenue to Main Street in Durant and see if you might have picked up vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed,” Hampton said.
“Second, if anyone has any footage – Snapchat, photos, videos, or witnessed the collision – we would them to reach out to us.”
The collision occurred between a 2003 Ford Escape, which held the teenagers, and a 2010 Toyota Tundra pickup, driven by Bradley Pittman, of Atoka. Hampton said there were multiple witness statements that put the Tundra pickup traveling at a high rate of speed, which would significantly exceed the legal limit for that area.
“Last, but not least, if anyone has any information regarding Mr. Pittman, regarding his whereabouts the night of or the day before, or anyone that has any knowledge of the vehicle he was driving – anyone that has any tips regarding any of that information, please reach out to the Durant Police Department at (580) 924-3737 and we’ll get that information and assign an investigator,” Hampton said.
The joint effort is in hour-by-hour talks as leads develop to put together a comprehensive case. On Tuesday, up to 5 or 6 specialty investigators will be brought in to do more technical analysis on the vehicles and canvasing to try to come up with investigative leads.
Additionally, the investigation is looking at the condition of Pittman at the time of the incident.
“The investigators on scene did detect an odor of alcohol on the driver and we will be conducting a follow-up investigation on that and we have obtained toxicology from the drivers involved and that will be sent to the OSBI laboratory for analysis,” Hampton said. “Pending the results on that, we will be preparing that information in an investigative packet for the D.A.
“We have a lot more work to do. Everybody is working hard to bring justice to the victims on this collision. Mainly, we just to find out what the facts are and let the facts lead us to what the case develops.”
