TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has released the cause of a crash that killed five students from Northeastern State University earlier this year.
In a report issued Wednesday, investigators say the Sept. 17 wreck near Tahlequah was caused by unsafe speed on a curve and a wet roadway. The investigators' report says that the driver, 18-year-old Donovan Caldwell of Muskogee, Okla., was not impaired at the time of the crash.
The truck went off the road, slammed through a guardrail and plummeted about 35 feet into a creek, landing on its top.
Caldwell was killed in the wreck along with 18-year-old Jessica Swartwout of McAlester, Okla.; 19-year-old Drake Wells of Thackerville, Okla.; 18-year-old Rhianna Seely of Salina, Okla.; and 18-year-old Lily Murphy of Gentry, Arkansas.