One dead, 2 injured in 2 wrecks

From Phoenix staff reports

October 07, 2008 12:36 am

— An out-of-state trucker, Ryan Orsburne of Buffalo, Minn., was killed after driving his rig into the rear of a Muskogee driver’s parked tractor-trailer rig on U.S. 69 in Pittsburg County, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report.
The accident occurred at approximately 11:20 p.m. Sunday, the OHP reported Monday.
The Muskogee driver of the parked 2008 Peterbilt, Tony Gooden, 39, was hospitalized in critical condition at Tulsa’s St. John Medical Center. Gooden’s condition was upgraded to serious and stable by Monday afternoon, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Orsburne, 27, was southbound when he went off the roadway north of Canadian. Gooden’s truck was legally parked on the shoulder of U.S. 69, and he had emergency triangles out on the southbound side of the highway, according to the trooper’s report.
Orsburne’s truck crossed the edge line and struck Gooden’s truck in the rear, ejecting Orsburne approximately nine feet from the point of rest, the OHP said.
The OHP report states the crash was caused as the result of Orsburne being sleepy.
In another Sunday accident, Toy Ray Gunter, 45, of Sallisaw was injured on a county road one mile north of Oklahoma 101, three miles north of Sallisaw.
The OHP reported Monday that Gunter was observed driving recklessly on a 2001 Suzuki Bandit 1200 motorcycle. He crashed while being chased by the OHP about 6 p.m. Sunday.
Gunter was taken to Sequoyah Memorial Hospital in Sallisaw and then taken to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa with trunk internal injuries, the OHP said.
His wife said she was told her husband was in serious condition.
The OHP chased Gunter westbound on Oklahoma 101 for approximately one mile before following him north on a county road for another mile. Gunter failed to negotiate a curve and struck a stump, the OHP said.
The cause of the collision was listed as driving under the influence, the OHP reported.
Gunter was wearing a helmet. The roadway was a two-lane rock and chip. He was ejected for an unknown distance, the OHP report said.