Woodward man charged with second degree murder
May 30—A second degree murder charge has been filed against a Woodward man in a case from October of 2022.
Court records show Kegan Thomas Mink was charged on Friday in Woodward County District Court in the death of Jacob Price from a car accident. An outstanding warrant with a bond of $50,000 was issued by the court.
According to the charge sheet, Mink is accused of failing to immediately contact medical services and/or report the collision that caused Price's injuries, and of attempting to conceal the collision and giving false information to medical staff regarding the injuries.
Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Joshua Byrd said in an affidavit filed with the charges that Price was a passenger in a pickup drive by Mink that was involved in a collision southwest of Woodward at approximately 12:20 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2022.
According to Byrd, who investigated the accident, Mink was going west on a county road and failed to stop at a stop sign. The pickup went over an embankment into a field and fence post.
Price, according to the affidavit, was critically injured and Mink allegedly failed to call for medical help or report the collision. Instead, according to the affidavit, Mink and a minor male dropped Price off at the hospital and left without providing information on how he was injured.
Mink is then accused of returning to the crash scene and removing the pickup to conceal evidence of the collision.
Price was flown from AllianceHealth Woodward to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City where he died from his injuries on the afternoon of Oct. 15.
In the affidavit, Byrd said Mink began cooperating with law enforcement and medical staff, admitting that he had an adult purchase a case of beer and he was drinking alcohol prior to the collision. A witness, according to the affidavit, reported seeing a case of beer in the pickup before the collision. Law enforcement did not find any empty beer containers in or around the pickup, but said there was a strong odor of beer.
Woodward emergency room staff said Price would have had a greater chance of surviving if emergency medical personnel had been called immediately after the collision, according to the affidavit.
The Oklahoma Medical Examiners office found the cause of death for Price to be blunt force trauma due to a motor vehicle accident.
Punishment for the crime, if convicted is 10 years to life in prison.
The case number is CF-2023-77.
