OHP Responds To Hundreds Of Crashes; At Least 3 Killed

First responders worked hundreds of crashes throughout Oklahoma Thursday, including at least three fatal crashes, as the Siberian cold front swept through the state, causing dangerous wind chills and treacherous road conditions.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said troopers responded to 247 non-injury collisions, 54 injury crashes, and two fatal wrecks on Thursday. In addition, the Ellis County Sheriff's Office said there was a fatal crash on Highway 15 between Gage and Fargo.

One of the deadly crashes that OHP responded to happened on the Turner Turnpike at mile marker 152, east of Luther in Lincoln County, at about 8:33 a.m.

OHP said 77-year-old Adelfino Alaniz, of Freer, Texas, was driving a Cheverolet Silverado when he became involved in crash with a tractor-trailer and a Ford F-650.

How the wreck happened remains under investigation. The drivers of the other vehicles were not hurt, said OHP.

About a mile or two from that crash, News 9 saw an overturned tractor-trailer on the right shoulder of Turner Turnpike. 

Foster said there were several crashes in that general area of the turnpike. He said with conditions this bad, multiple wrecks were likely.

"It's kind of hilly right there. So if a crash happens, maybe over a line of sight if you're driving too fast, once you come over a maybe a crest and you see that traffic is slowed, it's almost impossible to stop your vehicle on ice when you're going too fast," said Foster. " And so what we saw was about a five or six-vehicle crash that occurred first and then a secondary crash happened behind it, which often happens, and unfortunately it resulted in a fatality."

OHP also responded to a fatal wreck on Highway 62 near Paden.