Cotton County fire trucks collided due to thick smoke

WALTERS — Three people in two fire trucks were injured in a traffic wreck Monday afternoon as crews battled a grass fire in Cotton County.

A Chevrolet CD30 driven by Tyler E. Smith was traveling westbound on a gravel Cotton County road shortly after 2:30 p.m. when it struck an AM Gen M923 water tanker driven by Clinton W. Keaton that was obscured by smoke about 3 miles east and 1 mile north of Walters, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Luke Norton reported.

Smith, 32, of Temple, and his passenger, Caleb A. Patman, 26, of Temple, were survival flighted from the scene. Smith was treated and released from Duncan Regional Hospital, according to the report.

Patman was flown to Comanche County Memorial Hospital and then transferred to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City where he was admitted in good condition with arm injuries.

Keaton, 34, of Temple, was not injured. Norton reported the passenger, Steven H. Lantz, 33, of Temple, was flown to Duncan Regional Hospital where he was treated and released.

Improper backing through smoke during a wildfire was identified as the cause of the wreck. No seatbelts were in use, the report states.

The fire departments battling the fire are not identified by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The fire was in the area of Southeast Baseline Road and west of Oklahoma 65.

Multiple fire departments battled the blaze with 15 reported in total as well as two task forces. Multiple homes in the vicinity of the fire were evacuated, according to Cotton County Emergency Management.