Eric Snow
(PCSD file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — On the day after a Payne County jury was selected for his first-degree manslaughter trial last week, a pick-up truck driver pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance and possessing marijuana during a fatal head-on collision on Highway 177 near McMurtry Road north of Stillwater.
Eric Eugene Snow, 45, of Enid, admitted performing an illegal turnabout by crossing into an oncoming lane of traffic and hitting a vehicle occupied by passenger Carrie Turner, who died at the scene shortly before 2 pm on Jan. 19, 2018.
Snow, who had been free on $50,000 bail, was given a six-year prison term last week followed by six years of probation for first-degree manslaughter, along with a concurrent one-year jail term for marijuana possession by Payne County Associate District Judge Michael Kulling as part of a plea agreement with the prosecution.
On his release from prison, Snow must have a substance abuse evaluation, following any recommendations, participate in a victim impact panel, and pay $1,610 in assessments along with court costs, the judge ordered last week.
Snow was driving a silver 1999 GMC pick-up truck south on Highway 177 in the area of McMurtry Road when he attempted to make a turnabout, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Anthony Harper wrote in an affidavit.
“As he entered his turn, he struck a northbound vehicle, a 2007 Dodge Charger, driven by Catherine Smith, head-on. Ms. Smith’s vehicle had two additional occupants, Patty Waggoner and Carrie Turner,” the affidavit said.
Turner, a passenger, died at the scene; the driver of the Dodge Charger was flown by Air Evac to OU Medical Center where she was admitted in stable condition, the affidavit said. The other passenger was transported by LifeNet to the Stillwater Medical Center, the affidavit said.
When Snow was asked what happened, “He stated he was turning around because he missed his turn and didn’t see oncoming traffic. As I spoke to the subject (Snow), I detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his breath,” the trooper wrote in his affidavit.
Asked if he had drunk any alcoholic beverage or taken any type of drugs, Snow said no, the affidavit said. Snow’s movements “were slow and he appeared to be lethargic, and his eyes were red and glassy,” the affidavit said.
“As I patted him down, I felt a pill-shaped bottle in his front pocket of his hoody. I asked him what the item was — he stated he didn’t know,” the trooper wrote in his affidavit. Snow was arrested after the trooper removed the pill bottle that contained what appeared to be marijuana, the affidavit said.
When Snow was transported to the Stillwater Medical Center for a blood test about 3:06 pm, he admitted to a nurse that he smokes marijuana and takes Xanax, for which he does not have a prescription, the affidavit alleged.
Interviewed in the Payne County Jail, “Mr. Snow stated he left Enid where he lives and was headed to Best Buy in Stillwater. He stated he missed his turn and was trying to turn around when the crash happened,” the affidavit said.
Snow “stated he didn’t see oncoming traffic because he was looking where he was turning. He admitted to drinking a beer and a half prior to the collision and admitted that he smoked marijuana approximately one week prior. He stated that marijuana was in his truck and when the collision happened, he grabbed the bottle it was in and put it in his pocket,” the affidavit said.
