Police in Oklahoma have released bodycam footage from a fatal crash in which the teen driver allegedly topped out at 150 mph.
Video footage from the 15 October crash, obtained by local NBC affiliate KFOR from the Stillwater Police Department, shows the chaotic scene that a responding officer was met with when he discovered a mangled Mustang on the side of the road and then later a Chevrolet Impala that had been flattened in the crash.
The officer discovered the confusing scene near State Highway 51 in Stillwater, located about 64 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. As the footage from his bodyworn camera begins to roll, the officer’s desperation and utter confusion can be heard as he surveys the scene of the two smoking vehicles.
“I just heard a loud bang and saw a big old fireball flip over my car,” a man out of the camera’s view can be heard telling the officer, as he begins calling for “multiple units” to assist in the emergency.
The officer begins by checking the garbled mess that was 18-year-old Luke House’s Ford Mustang, asking, “anybody in there?” Without hearing an immediate response, he then says, “wake up”.
The driver of the crumpled Mustang, Mr House, was later charged with two counts of second-degree murder. One count for Ryan Begnaud, 18, who riding in the passenger seat with Mr House when he allegedly topped out at speeds of 150mph while driving along the state highway.
The other count was for Jeremi Smith, 40, who was riding in the passenger seat of the Impala that Mr House collided with at dangerous speeds that early morning on 15 October, NBC News reported.
The 60-year-old driver of the Impala, Virginia Winston, who was struck by the 18-year-old’s Mustang after House began driving east on the highway’s westbound lanes, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
As of Tuesday, she remains in hospital being treated, Fox 25 reported.
After striking the Impala, Mr House would go on to hit a second car which was occupied by another person parked inside a nearby convenience store parking lot and several more empty vehicles inside a nearby car dealership, police said.
Data extracted from Mr House’s Mustang allegedly showed that he was travelling at “in excess” of 150mph, which is nearly double the speed limit for highways throughout most of the state.
After being hospitalised, Mr House was arrested at his home and is being detained at Payne County jail, the police department said.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 7 November.
