Tulsa Mother Calls For Street Safety Improvements After Son's Fatal Accident

A Tulsa mother is remembering her 17-year-old son after he was hit by a driver on Mingo Road just north of 81st Street, then died almost a week later from his injuries. Now his mother wants to warn others about the area and seeks safety improvements like sidewalks or lights.

Iley Orgill says her son Isaiah was a big piece of her family's puzzle, and now she feels empty without him. Isaiah Orgill was autistic and non-verbal. Even though he couldn't talk, one of his teachers at Union High School says he had a lot of friends. "He's very sweet, he would always be in the hallways greeting everyone," said Ranesha Smith, a Union High School paraprofessional.

Isaiah's mother, Iley Orgill, says he would go on walks in the evenings in the summer because it wasn't as hot. His mom would track him, and when he left their home and went on a walk the night of June 14, she didn't think anything of it until his route looked unusual.

"I had seen he was on Mingo, and he came back towards the house and then he got back on Mingo. Then it got later and later; it was like maybe he was standing in the spot or something, I went to go get him," said Iley Orgill.

Iley says she tried to pick Isaiah up from his walk, but he wouldn't get inside. She says she left to switch cars, and when she was at her house, she got a call. "It was Tulsa police asking me to come to St. Francis because Isaiah had been hit," says Orgill.

Isaiah suffered a brain bleed and needed surgery, but before he could get it, he died almost a week after he was hit. Iley says she can't help but wonder if this could have been avoidable. "I feel like if there were either streetlights or sidewalks on that part of Mingo, that person would have seen my son before it was too late," Orgill said.

She hopes to see the city of Tulsa make those safety improvements. In the meantime, she is still grieving her son and says the hardest part is thinking about what could have been of his future. "It's hard picking out places on a cemetery for your child as a mother when they weren't sick or anything previously, you know," said Orgill.

Iley says the driver who hit her son stayed and called 911. They were not charged. Iley hopes the city can at least add safety measures to keep people safe until sidewalks or streetlights are installed.

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