OHP seeks help in fatal crash that took the lives of a trooper and two others

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is investigating the moments leading up to a deadly crash that left a trooper and two others dead. A woman, a four-year-old child, and Trooper Vernon Brake were all pronounced deceased at the scene. The accident left both the north and southbound lanes of I-35 closed for hours as traffic was diverted to nearby service roads. OHP believes the accident could have been caused by debris on the roadway, left behind by a commercial vehicle. "A commercial motor vehicle lost some type of equipment, or load, or some type of debris onto the roadway. Traffic was slowing down to avoid that," said Lt. Mark Southall with the OHP. "We don't know whether she sought to avoid the debris or if she swerved to avoid other cars that were stopping in front of her, but she swerved across the center median, crossed the cable barrier, where she struck our trooper," Lt. Southall explained. Trooper Vernon Brake was with the OHP for nearly 20 years, Lt. Southall says Brake's anniversary would have been on May 31. Now, the OHP is asking for the public's help in identifying the commercial vehicle that could have played a role in the accident. "We can't do a full, complete investigation until we identify who that is. We want to be able to wrap our minds around the full investigation of what occurred here, and that is really a missing piece of this," Lt. Southall said. OHP has released a photo of a truck that could possibly be connected to the accident, saying in a Facebook post, "This picture shows a truck that stopped on I-35 near the incident. It could possibly be the truck that lost part of its load or another truck that stopped to assist in clearing the debris." Anyone with information on the truck or who saw anything today on I-35 at or around 11:27 this morning is asked to call OHP's media line (405) 425-2323.