CADDO COUNTY, OKLA. (THECOUNT) — Langston Alan Pratt, of Calumet, Oklahoma, was killed early Saturday morning after his vehicle left a rural stretch of State Highway 66, struck a tree and caught fire in Caddo County, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.
According to reports, Pratt was trapped inside the burning vehicle for nearly three hours before firefighters freed him. He was pronounced dead from his injuries. An unidentified passenger in the vehicle survived.
According to OHP, the crash occurred at approximately 2:35 a.m. on State Highway 66 — also known as Old U.S. 66 — about 0.2 miles east of County Road 2510 in Caddo County. Troopers said Pratt was traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed when he failed to negotiate a curve. The vehicle left the roadway on the south side, and Pratt overcorrected, sending the vehicle across the road and off the north side, where it struck a tree. The vehicle caught fire following the collision.
Both Pratt and the passenger were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, according to troopers. The extent of the passenger’s injuries has not been released. OHP has not stated whether alcohol or impairment was a factor.
The investigation is ongoing.
Calumet is a small town in northwestern Canadian County, approximately 11 miles northwest of El Reno and 38 miles west-northwest of Oklahoma City. The town has a population of approximately 500 residents and sits along U.S. Route 270 near the North Canadian River. Canadian County — which borders Caddo County to the east — had a population of approximately 154,000 as of the 2020 census, making it the fifth most populous county in Oklahoma. Its county seat is El Reno.
Caddo County, where the crash occurred, is located in west-central Oklahoma, bordered by Canadian County to the northeast and Grady County to the east. The county seat is Anadarko, situated approximately 55 miles southwest of Oklahoma City and 40 miles northeast of Lawton. Caddo County covers approximately 1,278 square miles of gently rolling plains and river bottomland, with an economy rooted in agriculture, oil and gas production, and tribal enterprises. The Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes have deep historical ties to the region, and Anadarko serves as a headquarters for several tribal nations.
State Highway 66 in this corridor follows the original alignment of the historic Route 66, the iconic “Mother Road” that connected Chicago to Los Angeles from 1926 to 1985. The section of Old 66 in western Canadian County and eastern Caddo County is a two-lane rural highway that passes through open plains and small communities that were once bustling stops on the original alignment before Interstate 40 bypassed them. The road retains its original character — narrow lanes, limited shoulder, and long straightaways punctuated by sharp curves that reflect the road-building practices of the 1920s.
High-speed single-vehicle crashes on rural two-lane highways, particularly on curves, are among the most common fatal crash types in Oklahoma. Overcorrection — in which a driver who drifts off the roadway jerks the wheel too sharply in the opposite direction — frequently results in the vehicle crossing the centerline or roadway entirely before leaving the road on the opposite side, as occurred in this crash. OHP has not released information on whether impairment, fatigue, or other factors contributed to Pratt losing control.
OHP Troop E, based in Lawton, covers Caddo County and investigates fatal crashes on state highways within the county. The agency’s Fatal Accident Investigation Team handles cases involving fatalities on Oklahoma roadways. No charges had been announced as of the time of this report.
The approximate location of the fatal crash on State Highway 66 near County Road 2510 in Caddo County can be viewed on Google Maps (approximate).
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