An 18-year-old driver of a pickup and his 15-year-old passenger were hospitalized after the pickup they were in slid on ice Monday afternoon and struck a train near Okarche.
Brenden Toepfer, 18, of Kingfisher, was in stable condition at Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reports.
About 3:50 p.m. Monday, Toepfer was driving west on E 860 Road, just east of U.S. 81 about 3 miles north of Okarche in Kingfisher County, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
The northbound Union Pacific train was driven by engineer Clinton Baxter.
Toepfer’s pickup hit ice as he approached the railroad tracks and then hit the side of the train.
According to a report from the patrol, the pickup slid on the icy road and struck the side of train, then slammed into a signal mast and spun 360 degrees, ejecting both Toepfer and passenger.
The 15-year-old boy was taken to The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center where he was admitted in stable condition.
The train engineer, Baxter, and conductor David Johnson, 56, of Chickasha, were not injured.
Seat belts were not in use by Toepfer or his passenger, he patrol reported.
