UPDATE: 12:28 p.m. Wed. – The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has released the names of those killed and injured in the accident at the state line Tuesday night.
John L.D. Scott, 34, Kildare, Okla., was the driver of the 1995 Chevy Beretta. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Billy J. Paterson, 58, Newkirk, was the passenger in Scott’s car and was also dead at the scene. Both men were taken to Miller-Stahl Funeral Home in Newkirk.
Neither man was wearing a seat belt.
Quentin F. Bergkamp, 78, Ark City, was the driver of the 1997 Dodge pickup involved in the crash. He was taken to the hospital in Ark City, treated for a hand injury and released.
Carolyn M. Bergkamp, 64, Ark City, was taken to the same hospital. She is in fair condition.
Emily C. Bergkamp, 30, Manhattan, was treated for minor injuries and later released from the hospital.
Quentin Bergkamp and Emily Bergkamp were wearing seat belts, according to the OHP report.
The cause of the collision, according to Oklahoma Trooper Kirby Logan, was failure to yield on the part of the Beretta.
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Two Oklahoma men were killed and three others were hurt in a collision at the Kansas-Oklahoma border just south of Ark City Tuesday evening.
The men who died were driver and passenger in a Chevrolet Beretta that was traveling eastbound on State Line Rd., according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Their names have not been released pending notification of next of kin.
The Beretta collided with a black passenger truck registered in Cowley County and bearing a Kansas tag. Three people inside the truck were transported to the hospital in Ark City with injuries, but their conditions were not known at the time of this report.
Around 7:45 p.m., the vehicles collided when the Beretta crossed 77 and entered the path of the truck. Both vehicles traveled several feet following the crash and the Beretta came to rest in the east ditch. The truck stopped with its front end just into that same ditch.
Initially there was some question who would investigate the accident and eventually the accident scene became a joint effort of Oklahoma and Kansas agencies. The initial impact occurred just three feet on the Oklahoma side of the state line, so that state’s highway patrol investigated.
But the injured and dead came to rest on the Kansas side of the line, so Cowley County’s coroner and emergency personnel and law enforcement from Kansas handled processing of the scene. The northbound lane of traffic was closed to traffic for more than three hours.
Blood was drawn from the driver of the Beretta to test for the presence of alcohol or drugs that may have impaired the motorist, authorities said. The drawing of blood from drivers is standard in fatality accidents.
Both of the deceased were pronounced dead at the scene.
Preliminary investigation of the scene indicated seat belts were not in use, authorities said.
Emergency response vehicles, tow trucks and a mortuary vehicle drove to and from the scene as the cold October night wore on.