March 20, 2023 McAlester Police Officer Joseph Barlow was transporting the body of a fellow officer from Tulsa to Wetumka when a pickup truck collided head on with Barlow’s patrol vehicle.
By Kaitlyn Alanis Source The Charlotte Observer Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
An officer was escorting the body of a captain from his department in Oklahoma when he was struck in a head-on collision, police said.
McAlester Police Officer Joseph Barlow was en route from Tulsa to Wetumka on Friday, March 17, bringing the late Capt. Richard Parker home. Parker was unexpectedly found dead in his bed after he didn’t show up for work, according to the McAlester News-Capital.
But while the escort was near Glenpool, about 15 miles south of downtown Tulsa, authorities said Barlow was injured in a crash.
Barlow was rushed to a hospital in Tulsa, where he was listed in critical condition, according to the McAlester Police Department.
“This isn’t fair in all honesty,” Officer Colby Barnett told KJRH. “The kid had a heart of gold and we need a miracle.”
Barlow has undergone several surgeries, KJRH reported, and is “clinging to life.”
“As a family, we are completely devastated,” the Barlow family said in a statement shared by the McAlester Police Department.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Barlow’s vehicle was struck by a pickup truck, according to KOCO.
A spokesperson for the Glenpool Police Department told FOX23 that the driver crossed a center median before colliding with the patrol vehicle.
“It’s a very dangerous stretch of Highway 75 through there,” Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Aaron Kern told the outlet. “Glenpool police works a lot of crashes through here mostly people speeding and not paying attention.”
The truck driver was arrested, KFOR reported, and faces charges of driving without a license, reckless driving and driving illegally while causing great bodily harm.
The Barlow family said they are grateful for the “outpouring of love, support and prayers” following the “tragic collision.”