TULSA, Okla. — A man police believe was checking on other accident victims was killed in a separate accident Wednesday morning on the Broken Arrow Expressway near Lynn Lane.
The accident also injured two people and shut down Highway 51 for nearly four hours.
Broken Arrow police said personal safety is just as important as checking on the safety of others.
One person died and two others were injured in what BAPD said involved three cars and two collisions on the BA Expressway Wednesday morning. Police said the first accident happened at around 4:30 a.m. between a car and an SUV pulling a trailer. They said the car flipped over as a result of that initial collision.
“You’re dealing with high-speed traffic, a low light situation, it could be pretty dangerous on highways at night,” Officer Chris Walker, spokesperson for Broken Arrow Police.
Walker said traffic investigators think the second collision happened when the driver from the SUV was hit by a truck while attempting to check on those inside the flipped car. He said that person died on the scene.
Walker said it is human instinct to try and render assistance in an accident, but safety is crucial.
“I would jump out of my car and check on other drivers and have done it but the most important thing is to be safe if you’re trying to help someone because you don’t do any good if you’re not safe while you’re trying to help someone,” Walker said.
He said two others were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. As traffic investigators continue mapping out the pieces of the accident, they ask the public to always consider personal safety when trying to help others.
“A lot of times is best to stay with your vehicle, let emergency crews show up because if you get hurt while trying to save someone, it doesn’t do anybody any good,” Walker said.
Walker said if it's unsafe for you to stay inside your car because it is disabled in the lane of travel or it's on fire, you should try to move to an area away from traffic and stay there until help arrives.
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