Choctaw County Deputy Killed In Collision With Tribal Officer

A Choctaw County deputy was killed Thursday night while responding to an emergency call in far southeast Oklahoma, near Soper.

The Choctaw County Sheriff's Office says Brian Hayden, 47, was going to assist another deputy on a "shots fired" call around 8:30 p.m. Josiah Moore, a 29-year-old Choctaw National Tribal Police officer, responded to the same call.

Both vehicles were traveling west on Highway 70 with their emergency lights and sirens on when Deputy Hayden attempted to make a left-hand turn onto a county road. Investigators say it appears Moore swerved to the left and struck the driver's side door of Hayden's 2005 Chevy truck.

Deputy Hayden was pinned in the truck for about 10 minutes until he was freed by the Soper Fire Department. Moore was also pinned in his vehicle and immediately extracted by someone passing by.

Hayden was flown by Mediflight to a hospital in Hugo where he was pronounced dead from massive injuries. Moore was also flown to a hospital with internal injuries. He's now in stable condition.

The Choctaw County sheriff called Hayden a "great patriot and an excellent deputy."

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. They will be reconstructing the collision to determine what may have caused it.

Deputy Sheriff Brian Hayden remembered on Officer Down Memorial Page