Monday, June 1, 2026 • Very hot. Upper 90s. ☀️

KOCO: Oklahoma could see severe storm threat after near-record highs Monday

By J.C. Hallman (Oklahoma Watch) and María Guinnip (The Oklahoman)
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Eight-year-old Petronila Ramos-Mejia didn’t want to go to her babysitter that evening. She wanted to stay with her grandfather, Juan Mejia–Garcia. 

Juan and his wife, Petronila’s grandmother, Daniela Manea, worked opposite shifts at one of two meat-processing factories that sustain the economy of this dusty community of 12,000 inhabitants, the only city in Oklahoma with a majority Hispanic population. 

It was Aug. 5, 2023. Juan and Petronila, members of the city’s community of 1,600 Guatemalan immigrants, left their home on the south side of Guymon to visit relatives who lived closer to where Daniela was completing her shift. It was dusk when they picked Daniela up to return home. 

They took a shortcut: Mile 33 Road east of Guymon avoided the stoplights downtown. Juan knew the route well, south to U.S. 412, then west toward home. 

Sunset glowed on the horizon, tucked beneath a shadowy approaching storm. There was still light, but Juan had the Corolla’s headlights on. The car was on loan from the family’s pastor; Juan was driving the speed limit. 

Petronila was in the back seat. Daniela, exhausted from her shift, drifted off to sleep as a few raindrops pattered the windshield. 

At the same moment, a Chevy Tahoe driven by law enforcement officer Eldon “Len” Halliburton, a member of the District One Drug Task Force, sped west on U.S. 412, approaching the intersection at Mile 33 Road. 

The timing was perfect, it had to be — two wrong things happening in the most catastrophic way. 

First, for reasons unknown, Juan drove past the stop sign at the corner of Mile 33 Road and U.S. 412, where he knew to turn for home, according to Oklahoma Highway Patrol records. Instead, the Corolla shot into the intersection at between 50-60 mph in a posted 55 mph zone, according to a statement from District One District Attorney George “Buddy” Leach, who controls the drug task force of which Halliburton was a member. 

Second, the Tahoe driven by Halliburton, which five seconds earlier had been traveling at 85 mph in a 70 mph zone, according to the vehicle’s Crash Data Retrieval file — a “black box” of information — entered the intersection and slammed into the side of the Corolla. The vehicle’s dash camera revealed a clear view of Juan’s car on a collision course. The Tahoe appeared to drift slightly toward the shoulder and neither skidded nor swerved, slowing only slightly before impact, the black box data shows. 

The Corolla spun and flipped on its side and wound up in a ditch on the south side of the intersection. The Tahoe skidded wildly and careened off the road 80 yards farther west on U.S. 412. 

Juan and Daniela were grievously wounded but remained in the Corolla. Petronila was thrown violently through the rear window, and came to rest about 40 feet from the car on an embankment of scrub grass.  

Halliburton was injured, as well, less seriously. 

Daniela recalled almost nothing from the moment of impact — she was asleep — but she woke to see Juan hanging from his seat belt, unconscious. She reached to jostle his shoulder. 

She remembered nothing more. 

The next 38 minutes of law enforcement and medical response have, for the most part, remained a void. The details of what happened after that, pieced together from documents, interviews and law enforcement records, paint a disturbing picture of an investigation that was haphazard, incompetent or hasty by design. 

An investigation by reporters with Oklahoma Watch and The Oklahoman, one that was stalled by a months-long court battle for open records and stymied by systematic denials of requests for interviews with those who could fill in the gaps of what happened, provide the clearest look yet at the accident and its aftermath and raise troubling questions about law enforcement’s response to a tragic accident involving one of their own and an immigrant family. 

In a statement to the news organizations, Leach said the highway patrol had complete control of the investigation, adding: “There is no evidence of criminal conduct, impairment, or reckless behavior by Mr. Halliburton.” 

But the investigative records turned over to the news organizations by Leach and the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety show irregularities in how the investigation was conducted.   

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Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:

• Tulsa’s Route 66 Capital Cruise smashes Guinness classic car record (Tulsa Flyer)

• Greenwood Rising celebrates 5 years with luncheon (TODAY!) featuring Gen. Russel Honoré and Tulsa Flyer’s Gary Lee (Tulsa Flyer)

• Greenwood Rising marks 105 years since Tulsa Race Massacre with candlelight vigil (News On 6)

• Drummond: Stitt coordinating with PAC behind attack ad; PAC’s leader confirms Governor’s Mansion meeting (KFOR)

• Education Equation: GOP state superintendent candidate debate set for Tuesday (NonDoc)

• 5 things to know about PSO's plans to expand capacity, handle data centers (Tulsa World)*

• 1 injured in officer-involved shooting in Pauls Valley (News 9)

• Ponca City police investigating second homicide in three days (Kay News Cow)

• Need a hotspot? Your rural Oklahoma library might have one (OPMX)

• Marlow cornhole tournament supports children with special needs (KSWO)

Editor’s note: Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or click on the image below.

Series: Spurs win series 4-3
MVP: Victor Wembanyama
Next: San Antonio hosts New York for Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals.

• Watch: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Mark Daigneault react after Thunder’s Game 7 loss to Spurs (News 9)
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is not going to advise Thunder on offseason moves (NBC Sports)

Saturday’s Games:
Tennessee 2, Texas Tech 1
Alabama 5, Nebraska 1

Sunday’s Games:
Texas 3, Nebraska 1 (Cornhuskers eliminated)
Texas Tech 8, UCLA 7 Final/9 (Bruins eliminated)

Monday’s Games:
Texas vs. Tennessee (Longhorns have to win two)
Texas Tech vs. Alabama (Red Raiders have to win two)
Winners square off starting Wednesday in the WCWS Championship Finals.

Sooners:
Oklahoma 15, The Citadel 5
Oklahoma 15, Georgia Tech 8
👉 Sooners have to beat the Yellow Jackets one more time to move on
to the Super Regional. Game time is today at 2.

Cowboys:
Oklahoma State 12, SC Upstate 1
Oklahoma State 9, Alabama 7 Final/11
👉 The Cowboys’ season comes to an end.

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