By: Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A 37-year-old Drumright man accused of driving a pickup truck under the influence of intoxicating prescription drugs and fatally hitting Curtis Sams, who was standing in the parking lot of his body shop on Main Street, has been ordered to appear in court Thursday for arraignment on a first-degree manslaughter charge.
Christopher Clint Collier remains free on $75,000 bond on the felony charge that carries a minimum prison term of four years and a maximum penalty of life on conviction, according to court documents filed Friday.
Cushing Police Investigator Jerrod Livergood alleged in an affidavit that toxicology testing of Collier’s blood indicated the presence of fluoxetine, an anti-depressant known as Prozac; cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxer known as Flexeril; zolpidem, a sedative used as a sleep aid known as Ambien; and alprazolam, a short-acting tranquilizer known as Xanax.
The fatal collision at 8:23 am on Sept. 28 occurred after a red 2003 Chevy 2500 HD pickup driven by Collier eastbound on Highway 33 in the inside lane in the 200 block of E. Main Street “failed to maintain the lane, crossed the marked double yellow center line, traveled across two westbound lanes and struck the curb while departing the roadway to the north,” the affidavit alleged.
“During this time, Curtis Sams was in the parking lot to his business, Curtis Sams Body Shop, blowing leaves/debris from the lot. Sams was estimated to be approximately 16 feet north of the edge of SH 33,” the affidavit alleged.
“The pickup travelled through the right-of-way into the parking lot — striking Sams propelling him east into the Shamrock Service Station sign. The pickup swerved right nearly missing a parked vehicle, struck two highway signs, and returned back to the roadway travelling east in the westbound lanes on SH 33. The pickup then came to rest on top of an elevated curb island in front of TKO Equipment Sales and Rental,” according to physical evidence and surveillance footage, the affidavit alleged.
Collier was requested and provided a voluntary blood sample to Cushing Police Officer Alex McKean, according to the affidavit.
During an interview with Cushing Police Sgt. Jack Ford on the day of the collision, Collier said “he remembers hitting something that jarred him and his pickup and he saw that he was off the road and tried to stop his truck, but the truck kept going…Collier remembers that he saw a person what he thought was carrying a gas can and that he remembers running over this person while still trying to stop his truck,” the affidavit alleged.
“Collier told Sgt. Ford that the night before, he took his medication being alprazolam, Ambien, and a flexual and drank one small bottle of oil fire whiskey and went to bed around 11:30-12:00 pm. Collier also told Sgt. Ford that he got up this morning (Sept. 28) and took his morning medication being valsartin, Prozac, and Nuvigil. Sgt. Ford asked Collier if he fell asleep and Collier said he didn’t know.
“Collier said that all he could figure when he was trying to stop his truck, he was pushing the gas pedal instead of the brake. Collier advised he didn’t take any medication other than the ones that are mentioned and he didn’t have anything to drink that morning,” of the collision, the affidavit alleged.
When the Cushing police investigator interviewed Collier by phone two days later, “Collier said ‘I don’t remember much of anything’ from the collision. Collier said that he was not on either of the cell phones at the time of the collision. Collier advised that he remembered dropping his daughter off at school and everything seemed fine and on the way back, ‘something happened, I don’t know what happened.’ Collier advised that he was not drinking and had not taken anything that morning.
“Collier advised that he wasn’t drinking the night before either. I specifically asked if he took his alprazolam that morning and he said ‘no’ and didn’t even know it was in the truck. I asked if he was having any medical problems. Collier advised that he has ‘been to a doctor over all this’ recently about one week ago for having episodes where he would be driving and just wake up and doesn’t know where he was,” the investigator alleged in his affidavit.
Collier said he went to visit with his physician “because he wouldn’t remember being in certain places sometimes. Collier advised that he went to the doctor about a week before the accident and hasn’t driven since the doctor’s visit. Collier advised that this wasn’t something that he thought was gonna happen again,” the affidavit alleged.
Based on the investigation, Livergood believed “probable cause exists that Collier was driving a Chevrolet pickup upon a public roadway while impaired by prescription drugs. Further, Collier failed to remain in his lane, crossed the marked center line, travelled off the roadway where he struck and killed Curtis Sams,” the affidavit alleged.
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