Three Killed, One Injured In Tulsa Rock Quarry Wreck

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- Three people are dead after driving their pickup truck off a cliff into a rock quarry near East 46th St. North and 129^th East Avenue. One survivor was able to call the police and request help.

Police believe the driver and three passengers had been drinking and were driving at a "very high rate of speed" northbound on North 129th East Ave. They apparently drove through the stop sign and up a slight incline that catapulted the truck over two boulders that were used as a barrier to the quarry.

The truck sailed through the air for about 200 feet where it landed and struck two more boulders used as barriers on the east side of the quarry pit. It landed about 150 feet below in the rock quarry.

Dead are Troy Adams, 24; Mark Gaches, 28; and Andrew Merriman, 21, all of Cleveland. Amanda Stone, 19, survived the accident.

Stone phoned Tulsa Police at about 3:15 a.m., according to Public Information Officer Leland Ashley.

"We've had individuals who've driven over the ledge before," Ashley said. "Boulders were put up to keep this kind of thing from happening so there's a possibility these individuals were going at a pretty good speed."

Because the woman did not know her exact location, it took rescuers about two hours to find the wreck. EMSA dispatcher Stephanee Corbett stayed on the line with Stone until police were able to locate her.

Stone was transported to St. John Hospital in Tulsa in serious condition.