DURANT, Okla.—Authorities say a drunken driver who was on probation for a previous DUI conviction deliberately forced another vehicle into oncoming traffic on an Oklahoma highway, causing a head-on collision that killed two people and injured four others.
The suspected road rage attack happened at around 5 p.m. July 13 west of Durant, which is about 120 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says two people are dead following a collision in southern Oklahoma that troopers are investigating as a road rage incident.https://t.co/q0IJg7iSEh
— KOKH FOX 25 (@OKCFOX) July 14, 2019
Authorities identified the driver as 52-year-old Ralph F. McEnnerney, of Kingston.
Patrol spokeswoman Sarah Stewart said McEnnerney left the scene of the collision but was later arrested and booked into the Bryan County Jail on two counts of second-degree murder, leaving the scene of a fatal collision and felony DUI. Court records don’t indicate if McEnnerney has an attorney and a listed number couldn’t be found for him.
Court records indicate that McEnnerney pleaded guilty in May to DUI, resisting an officer and other charges in Marshall County. He received a one-year suspended prison sentence and a $500 fine, and he was placed on unsupervised probation.
Stewart said McEnnerney was driving eastbound on U.S. Highway 70 when “for some reason” began to drive recklessly next to another vehicle. McEnnerney allegedly struck the passenger side of that vehicle, causing it to veer into oncoming traffic and to hit the other vehicle.
Everyone who were killed or injured was either in the vehicle that was pushed or the one that it struck. One passenger in each vehicle was killed. They were identified as Randy Kinyon, 47, of Henderson, Texas, and Shelley Lynn Mayo, 46, of Caddo, Oklahoma.
3-Year-Old Girl Killed in Road Rage Shooting
In a similar incident Saturday this week, Milwaukee police reported that a 3-year-old girl was fatally shot during a road rage incident.
Two cars nearly collided near 42nd and Concordia in Milwaukee’s north side around 8:35 a.m. The car with the 3-year-old inside drove away from the near-miss, and a person from the suspect’s car started opening fire into the back of the fleeing vehicle. One of the bullets mortally struck the little girl, reported Fox6.
An emotional plea from @MilwaukeePolice after another innocent child is killed after a senseless shooting. A 3-year-old girl was struck during a road rage incident. @CBS58 #Milwaukee #StopTheViolence pic.twitter.com/1Gjix26fDt
— Shirley Descorbeth (@ShirleyReports) July 13, 2019
Soon after the gunfire, the police caught sight of the suspect’s car. They attempted to pursue, but the suspect’s car sped away. The car later crashed and the suspect started fleeing on foot. After a search of the area, the police were able to take the suspect into custody.
Police told Fox6 that the girl’s mother and three other children, a 1-year-old, 2-year-old, and 4-year-old were inside the car at the time of the shooting.
In a news conference later in the day, Milwaukee Inspector Terrence Gordon told the reporters that the investigation was ongoing as they spoke.
Gordon thanked the officers who did a great job in capturing the suspect.
“We’re sick of it. A baby was shot today over absolutely nothing—over stupidity,” said Gordon, according to Fox6.
“What was a bad enough tragedy could have been worse, but thank God it wasn’t,” Inspector Gordon said, reported CBS.
Assistant Chief Ray Banks became emotional during the conference and delivered an important and powerful speech.
“This can’t become the norm. Our city is better than this. We need everybody to understand just how tragic this is. … She’s three years old. How can we allow our community to continue to take these kinds of stories and no one cares? No one can protect our children unless we all, the whole community, does so. Someone takes it upon themselves to shoot at a car full of children, the whole community is losing,” he stated.
NTD News reporter Samuel Allegri contributed to this report.
