UPDATE: Glenpool PD identifies driver who collided with McAlester officer

Derrick James, McAlester News-Capital, Okla.
Updated ·2 min read

Mar. 17—Investigators identified the driver of a vehicle that struck a McAlester Police Officer head-on in Glenpool during an escort for a fallen officer.

Mandy Vavrinak, a spokesperson for the Glenpool Police Department, identified the driver as 39-year-old Martin Rivas Rodriguez, of Tulsa.

Tulsa County Jail records show Rivas was booked late Friday night on complaints of no driver's license in possession while driving, reckless driving, and causing great bodily harm while driving without driver's license.

Rivas was being held on a total bond of $2,700 between the three complaints, according to jail records.

Additional charges may be filed following the conclusion of the investigation, said Vavrinak.

Officers from the McAlester Police Department travelled Friday to Tulsa to escort MPD Capt. Richard Parker, who died Thursday at his home, from the medical examiner's office to a funeral home in Wetumka.

MPD Chief Kevin Hearod said officers were traveling south on U.S. Highway 75 in Glenpool when a truck traveling northbound crossed the center median and struck a McAlester officer head on.

Hearod said first responders had to cut the officer out of the vehicle before he was transported to St. John Medical Center in Tulsa.

The chief said Thursday night he was waiting for family to arrive at the hospital before releasing a name.

In a statement released by the Glenpool Police Department, officers were notified around 6:27 PM on Friday, March 17, of a head-on collision on Highway 75 just north of 151st St. South.

A black Ford F-250 truck driven by an adult male with one passenger, failed to stop for the procession and took evasive action to avoid colliding with a stopped vehicle.

According to the statement, the truck then crossed the center median and struck the McAlester Police vehicle.

"The pick up truck driver and passenger refused medical treatment," the statement said.

U.S. 75 was closed Friday night to allow the Oklahoma Highway Patrol to investigate the crash.

In a statement released Friday night, the city of McAlester asked residents to keep the injured officer in their thoughts.

"We ask our community to please keep him and his family, friends and department in your thoughts," the post said.