MOORE, Okla. – A second Oklahoma high school student-athlete has died after she and five other teammates were struck by a pickup truck while running on a sidewalk for cross-country practice Monday afternoon, officials said.
Dustin Horstkoetter, director of safety at Moore Public Schools, said Yuridia Martinez, who had been hospitalized in critical condition since the crash, has since died. She is the second student to succumb to their injuries, Fox News reported.
Moore Police Department received emergency calls around 3:30 p.m. Monday regarding a pedestrian hit by a red pickup truck which then fled, Moore Police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis said during a press conference.
As officers arrived on scene, they discovered one deceased female student and five other injured students, three of whom were critical.
A senior at Moore High School, Rachel Freeman, was first identified by school officials as deceased.
“It is with great sadness and heavy heart that I share with you, there was a tragic accident this afternoon at Moore High School. Six of our cross-country students were running on the sidewalk and were struck by a vehicle,” Principle Mike Coyle said in an email, obtained by KFOR.
After the suspect mowed down the runners, several people directed responding officers to his location.
As a result, police arrested Max Leroy Townsend, 57, on one count of first-degree manslaughter and six counts of leaving the scene of an injury accident, KOCO reported. The charges will presumably be updated now that a second student has passed away.
Lewis said he struck other vehicles before and after plowing into the students.
During the course of the investigation, Lewis said, “We are waiting on a warrant to draw his blood, which is typical with someone involved in a fatality crash but they are investigating the possibility of him being intoxicated.”
Police also told KFOR that Townsend’s 28-year-old son was killed in a traffic fatality on Sunday, not far from Monday’s crime scene.
