TULSA, Okla. — The family of a Tulsa woman who died on the Highway 169/I-244 interchange wants that stretch of road fixed.
Witnesses to Sunday’s deadly wreck say the poor road conditions were responsible. Kelly Stokes’s daughter says something needs to be done.
“She had the biggest heart in the world,” said Brittany Lovestokes. “She loved animals. Loved my dad.”
Stokes loved her husband, her family, and her trike.
“They went out all the time,” Lovestokes said. "Mom drove the trike all the time.”
She says the trike gave her mom a sense of independence. But it’s on that same trike she lost her life Sunday afternoon.
“I'm disappointed because no family should have to deal with this,” Lovestokes said.
Tulsa Police Officer Caleb Howell with the Mingo Valley Division Traffic Unit says witnesses told police Stokes hit a rough patch as she was heading onto I-244 westbound from Highway 169. She lost control and then recovered. She hit another rough patch that caused her to run into the guardrail and be thrown from the trike.
“I don’t know how to process right now,” Lovestokes said. “I mean she was my best friend.”
Multiple witnesses told police she wasn’t speeding. They say it was the terrible road conditions that caused her to crash.
“I want something to be done,” Lovestokes said. “I don’t just want her name to fall off and just be another statistic.”
This is the second fatal accident that’s happened in the same area since New Year’s Eve. Mark Calcut Junior, an avid biker, also lost his life on this interchange.
“There’s a responsibility that they are supposed to take care of that stuff to make sure that we’re safe and that’s not safe,” Lovestokes said.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation says contractors plan to start previously scheduled work on the interchange on March 6. They say the ramp is scheduled for replacement and as part of that work resurfacing will be done.
For the families of both Kelly Stokes and Mark Calcut Junior, they don’t want anyone else to die on this interchange.
“If it sparks something and it makes some change for good, then mom is a happy woman,” Lovestokes said.
The TPD Traffic Unit is still looking into the crash. Investigators say they’ve taken pictures of the roadway and measurements of the potholes.
ODOT gave 2 News Oklahoma the following statement:
“The Oklahoma Department of Transportation was saddened to learn of the fatality crash during the weekend at the interchange of I-244 and US-169 in Tulsa. Any loss of life due to a crash is a tragedy. ODOT has requested an official incident report from law enforcement but has not received it yet and cannot speculate regarding a cause of the crash. After any fatality crash on the highway system, the department reviews all information as it becomes available as part of a safety assessment of site conditions at the time.”
If you’d like to help Kelly’s family, you can donate to their GoFundMe.
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