Lillian C Smith
(PCSD file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A young woman who pleaded guilty to an alternative count of driving left of center, rather than under the influence of intoxicating drugs, in a fatal crash on Highway 33 west of Perkins that took the lives of three passengers, ages 4, 7, and 19, at 10:48 pm on April 10, 2021, has been given three concurrent five-year prison terms followed by 10 years of probation for three counts of first-degree manslaughter.
Lillian Caroline Smith, now 22, of Del City, who had been free on $90,000 bond since Feb. 16, 2022, was jailed after Payne County Associate District Judge Michael Kulling approved the sentence recommended by First Assistant District Attorney J.R. Kalka in court on Dec. 17, 2024, court records show.
Smith, then 19, was driving a 2002 red GMC Envoy SUV eastbound on Highway 33 and her boyfriend, Braden O’Rourke, 19, of Oklahoma City, who was killed in the crash, was in the front passenger seat, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Michael Wallace wrote in an affidavit.
“The GMC traveled off the roadway, into the outside shoulder, and contacted the rumble strip. Smith overcorrected to the left, began to rotate counterclockwise, traveled across the eastbound lane, crossed the centerline, and entered the opposing westbound lane.
“A silver 2018 Hyundai Elantra was traveling westbound. The red GMC was out of control and in a broad slide as it entered the path of the Hyundai. The Hyundai impacted the passenger side of the GMC near the area of the ‘b’ and ‘c’ pillars. The GMC departed the roadway to the north, and overturned one-quarter time, onto its driver side,” the affidavit said.
The Hyundai was driven by Justin Ramski, 21, of Oklahoma City, who had four passengers — his girlfriend, Jasmyne Owze, 20, of Guthrie, and her three children, ages 3, 4, and 7, an OHP report said.
“The Hyundai rotated clockwise and came to rest in the roadway facing north. Bystanders came upon the scene and assisted in extricating Ramski, Owze, and the children from the Hyundai. Soon thereafter, the Hyundai caught fire and burnt completely,” the affidavit said.
Two of the children, ages 4 and 7, were pronounced dead at the scene, the affidavit said. The youngest child, 3, and Ramski were transported by LifeNet to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, the affidavit said.
“Members of the Perkins and Coyle Fire Departments responded to the scene, extinguished the fire, extricated Smith and O’Rourke from the GMC, but O’Rourke was pronounced dead at the scene. Smith and Owze were transported by medical helicopter to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City,” the affidavit said.
“Trooper Shayne Ballard traveled to the hospital, spoke with the two drivers, Smith and Ramski, and asked if they would consent to a blood draw to search for intoxicants. Both drivers provided their consent and blood sample,” the affidavit said.
“OSBI toxicology testing found Smith’s blood samples containing 11-hydroxy-delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (Hydroxy-THC), 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-
