Trooper Dees and Trooper Keith Burch were investigating a collision involving a tractor-trailer on Interstate 40 in Seminole County near the Pottawatomie County line. While both troopers were standing outside their patrol units, a driver failed to yield to their warning lights, and traveled into the collision scene striking both troopers. Trooper Dees died instantly. Trooper Burch received serious injuries and has since retired.
Steven Wayne Clark was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and spent five years in prison. He is currently out on probation. During the course of the investigation, phone records revealed Clark had been sending and receiving messages in the miles leading up to the crash.
The case led to the “Trooper Nicholas Dees and Trooper Keith Burch Act of 2015” which states in part “It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle on any street or highway within this state while using a handheld electronic communication device to manually compose, send, or read an electronic text message while the motor vehicle is in motion.”
Distracted driving emphases will be conducted in troops throughout the state, in conjunction with other law enforcement agencies, during the last two weeks of January. Troopers will focus their daily enforcement on distracted driving laws.
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