Top left: Kiercy Hickson (Dighton Marlor Funeral Home). Bottom left: Quincy Jones. Top right: Haliegh Salazar. Bottom right: Brad Palmer (DHS). Middle: Michael Rosario-Cruz (Oklahoma Highway Patrol).
A tragic incident unfolded on an Oklahoma highway when a man from Tennessee allegedly drove his truck the wrong way, resulting in a catastrophic collision with a car carrying four young individuals. Among the victims were three recent high school graduates.
Michael Rosario-Cruz has been charged with four counts of second-degree murder, two counts of DUI causing bodily injury, and driving the wrong way on a one-way road, among other offenses. The early-morning crash occurred on May 22 in Canadian County, according to information from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The collision claimed the lives of Kiercy Hickson, 20, Quincy Jones, 19, Haliegh Salazar, and Brad Palmer, both 18. Authorities reported that Rosario-Cruz was driving westbound in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 when he collided head-on with the victims’ vehicle near Czech Hall Road.
The impact caused the car to burst into flames, resulting in the immediate deaths of all four passengers. Rosario-Cruz survived the crash and was hospitalized in critical condition. Investigators found open containers of alcohol and a firearm in his truck. Blood test results to determine his blood alcohol content are still pending.
“This isn’t an accident,” Oklahoma Commissioner of Public Safety Tim Tipton told reporters at a press conference. “This is the murder of four young kids, three of them that just graduated the week before from high school. This is an intentional act. This defendant in this case made the decision, intentional decision to go and drink at a local bar, then get on the interstate, so impaired that he got on the wrong direction.”
Rosario-Cruz, a resident of Memphis, was reportedly in Oklahoma for work purposes. Following his release from the hospital, he was taken into custody at the Canadian County Jail on Sunday.
According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Rosario-Cruz entered the United States illegally in 2015 and remained under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provided him with a work permit.
After the crash, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security obtained a detainer for the suspect so he cannot be released from jail during the criminal proceedings.
“These young men and women had their whole lives ahead of them. This tragedy was completely preventable,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
Rosario-Cruz remains behind bars without bond. His next court date was not immediately available.
