OHP: Wind Caused Semi Trailer To Crash Into Firetruck, Trooper Patrol Car

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said high winds led to the driver of a semi crashing into emergency responders' vehicles while they were working a crash.

The semi destroyed an OHP patrol car and a Catoosa firetruck will likely need to be replaced.

"I'm happy at this point all we've lost is equipment, because we easily could have lost a trooper,” OHP Trooper Mark Southall said.

"It was just inches away from somebody losing their life,” Catoosa Fire Chief Denus Benton said.

Benton said his firefighters and OHP were just getting ready to leave the scene of a crash on Friday, when a semi on the highway pushed their firetruck and launched a trooper's car into the air, sending both vehicles to the embankment on the side of the highway.

No one was inside the truck or car.

Catoosa's Engine 4 truck now sits at the station, with serious damage to the front and back.

"The box on the back that holds all the equipment is, it's warped and bent very bad,” Benton said.

The wreck happened on the Will Rogers Turnpike near Catoosa.

"So we determined that the driver was really acting as safe as he possibly could,” Southall said.

Southall said OHP's investigation blames the wind for the crashes.

"I don't know if there was anything at this point the driver could have done differently,” Southall said. “He wasn't loaded very heavy, so the winds really played a role. Not to mention the elevated surface that they were on."

"Nothing against semi truck drivers either, I mean, it was a very high, windy day,” Benton said. “And they're on a hill, coming up that hill and trying to get to wherever their destination is."

With winds blowing more than 60 miles per hour, a gusty day turned costly.