Published: July 15, 2008 12:22 pm      

ATV crashes twice

Two people wreck same 4-wheeler five hours apart

Sulphur — A spokesperson with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said an OHP trooper responded to two accidents involving the same all terrain vehicle near the same place within hours of each other.

Both accidents occurred on a county road two miles west and six miles north of Sulphur Monday morning.

The first happened just after 12 a.m. when a 2004 Honda four-wheeler driven by 14-year-old Gavin Saunders, Sulphur, failed to make a curve in the road, ran off the road and through a fence, OHP Trooper Daniel Arms said in a report.

Saunders was taken by private vehicle to Arbuckle Memorial Hospital. He was then taken by EMS to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Oklahoma City and admitted in serious but stable condition with neck and external injuries.

Arms said Saunders was not wearing a helmet and listed the cause of the accident as unsafe speed.

The second accident occurred five hours later when Jeremy Courtney, 23, Sulphur, was driving the same four-wheeler on the same county road and failed to make a curve in the roadway, ran off the road and overturned.

Courtney was taken by private vehicle to Arbuckle Memorial and admitted in fair condition with head and internal injuries. Arms said Courtney was not wearing a helmet.

Arms said based on his investigative opinion, the cause of the accident was unsafe speed and listed the driver’s condition as having an odor of alcoholic beverage. Arms was assisted by Murray County sheriff’s deputies and Sulphur police.