A head-on collision on Interstate 40 left four young victims dead after a driver allegedly entered the highway going the wrong direction.
CANADIAN COUNTY, OK – Four young people, including three recent high school graduates, were killed in a fiery early-morning crash on May 22 after a Tennessee man allegedly drove the wrong way on Interstate 40 and collided head-on with their vehicle, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Michael Rosario-Cruz is 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. Troopers said he was traveling west in eastbound lanes near Czech Hall Road when the crash occurred. The victims were identified as Kiercy Hickson, 20, Quincy Jones, 19, and 18-year-olds Haliegh Salazar and Brad Palmer.
The victims’ vehicle caught fire immediately after impact. All four were pronounced dead at the scene. Rosario-Cruz was transported to a hospital in critical condition and later booked into the Canadian County Jail after his release.
Charges and investigation details
Officials said investigators found open containers of alcohol and a firearm inside Rosario-Cruz’s truck. Authorities are awaiting blood test results to determine his blood alcohol content at the time of the crash.
“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.”
Authorities said Rosario-Cruz, a Memphis resident, was in Oklahoma for work at the time of the crash.
Immigration status and federal hold
According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Rosario-Cruz entered the United States illegally in 2015 and remained under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy with a valid work permit.
Following the crash, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a detainer to prevent his release 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 in custody without bond. A court date has not yet been announced.