By Conrad Dudderar
Senior Staff Writer
A lawsuit alleging auto negligence has been filed in connection with a fatal auto-pedestrian crash on Interstate 40 in west Yukon.
The court case arises from a November 2019 traffic collision involving two vehicles on I-40 near mile marker 134 between Frisco and Cimarron roads.
The drivers of those two vehicles are named as defendants in a civil suit filed Jan. 11 in Canadian County District Court.
Tristan K. Hancock and Katelyn E. Wood were negligent in the operation of their vehicles causing the collision and death of Ariel Ross, according to the lawsuit.
Hancock also was negligent “in the maintenance and upkeep of his motor vehicle,” the suit alleges.
The deadly wreck occurred around 2:04 a.m. Nov. 16 on I-40 one mile east of Cimarron Road, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report.
A 2008 Chevy Cobalt driven by Elk City’s Hancock, 26, had become disabled and was stopped in the center eastbound lanes of I-40.
Norman’s Ross, 30, exited the Chevy Cobalt to help remove the vehicle from the roadway.
While trying to help push the vehicle, Ross was struck by a 2019 Buick Encore driven by Mustang’s Katelyn Wood, 21.
Wood had tried to avoid a collision but struck the Chevy Cobalt and Ross who was standing outside the car, according to the OHP report.
Ross was pronounced dead at the scene while Hancock and Wood were taken to INTEGRIS Canadian Valley Hospital in Yukon for treatment of injuries.
LAWSUIT RE-FILED
Attorney Marcus Mears of the Cunningham & Mears, P.C. law firm represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Hancock and Wood.
A civil suit was initially filed in July 2020, with one plaintiff listed – Addison Buecker, as the father of Ariel Ross’ minor child.
That first petition was dismissed Jan. 11 when the case was refiled with Angela Ross, as personal representative of her late sister’s estate, added as a second plaintiff.
On behalf of the deceased, plaintiffs are seeking damages against both defendants for: Medical and burial expenses, mental pain and anguish, pecuniary loss, grief, and loss of companionship.
The court case has been assigned to Canadian County District Judge Jack D. McCurdy.
