A 31-year-old Oklahoma man was killed early Thursday after his car struck the rear of a semi-truck that had stopped on the shoulder of Interstate 40 in Canadian County, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said, according to News 9 and the Oklahoma City Focal.
Source: News 9
The crash happened at about 5:30 a.m. near mile marker 107, close to the Geary and Watonga exit. The semi-truck had pulled onto the outside shoulder because of a flat tire, investigators said.
The driver, identified by the patrol as Brandon Schopfer, 31, of Hinton, lost control of his car for a reason that has not yet been determined. His vehicle left the road to the left, came back onto the highway and spun before hitting the back of the parked semi, the Focal reported, citing the patrol's report.
Schopfer was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the only person in his car. The semi driver, who is from Arizona, was not injured, and no other injuries were reported.
The patrol's report also said Schopfer was not wearing a seat belt. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is investigating the collision, and no cause has been announced.
I-40 is one of the main east-west trucking corridors across Oklahoma. A disabled truck on the shoulder is a routine sight on that route — this crash is a reminder of how little room for error there is when a vehicle leaves its lane near a stopped rig.