COMANCHE Okla_ There have been
three fatality wrecks in our area in less than a week, and the Oklahoma Highway
Patrol said all three victims were not wearing seat belts and were ejected.
One of those accidents
happened just before 11:00 PM Friday on Monument Hill Road near Addington in Jefferson County. 12-year-old Joseph McTee was
riding with his older brother and sister and a family friend, when his brother
lost control of the car on the gravel road. That's when the car rolled nearly 3
times ejecting Joseph. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
Joseph's family
said they are learning first and foremost that seatbelts really can save lives.
The other 3 passengers in the car had theirs on and were treated and released. After
that, there are still a lot of questions. Joseph's mother said he knew to wear
a seatbelt, and he normally did. So, no one is sure why he didn't have it on that
night.
Joseph's mom, Sondra
Sumner, said the world lost an angel Friday night.
"He was
always happy," Sumner said, "Always smiling, always trying to cheer somebody
up."
She said that
smile put her in a better mood every day. Joseph, or "Jo Jo" as everyone called
him, was a 5th grader at Comanche
Elementary School and had
big plans for his future.
"He wanted
to be a state trooper," Sumner said.
Because of
that, he knew how important it was to wear a seatbelt every time he was in the
car.
"The kids
told me that they asked him if he had a seatbelt on, and he said he was
fastened," Sumner said.
One story is
that he might've taken it off at some point to lie down in another passenger's
lap. Tyrone Dixon has been a highway patrolman for 5 years. He said situations
like this never get any easier, and unfortunately, they happen too often.
"There've been numerous fatality
collisions, where we believed in investigating the collisions that had that individual
been wearing a seatbelt, they would not have been ejected," Dixon said. "The vehicle would not have
rolled on top of them. They would have remained inside the vehicle."
Joseph's mother
agreed 100% before the accident.
"Every
time we've gotten into a vehicle the rule is, you don't put the car in gear
unless everybody is fastened," Sumner said.
Joseph's mother said she didn't get off until midnight the night before
the accident, but she did get to talk to Joseph briefly Friday morning. She
said Joseph was excited about a magic show at school that day. She said she
told him to have fun and that she loved him very much.
Joseph will be laid to rest Thursday morning. Parents of his 5th grade classmates
have set up a fund at First National Bank in Comanche to help pay for funeral
expenses.
