Lancaster Boy, 4, Killed in Oklahoma Car Crash

A 4-year-old Lancaster boy was killed in a highway crash in Oklahoma on Friday after being ejected from a car driven by his stepfather, who faces possible criminal charges for violating the state’s seat-belt law, authorities said.

DeWayne Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene from massive head injuries, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol dispatcher Brian Thompson.

There were six passengers, including four children 6 years old and under, in a four-door 1998 Saturn driven by Brian Scott, 19, of Lancaster, Thompson said. As the car passed through a one-lane construction area on Interstate 40 about 125 miles east of Oklahoma City, Scott swerved to avoid a large animal crossing the highway, possibly a deer, Thompson said.

Although the two youngest children, Brian Scott, 2, and Precious Scott, 1, were in child restraints, DeWayne and his sister, Daijanique Thomas, 6, were unrestrained in the back seat, Thompson said.

Under Oklahoma law, any child younger than 4 and under 60 pounds must be in child-safe restraints and children 4 and 5 must either be held in by a child restraint or a seat belt, Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Gerald Davidson said. It is the driver’s responsibility to make sure seat belts and child restraints are properly used.

Although Scott was not arrested, the Oklahoma district attorney’s office will meet with officers early next week to decide whether charges should be filed, Davidson said.

The accident occurred at 4:40 a.m. Friday, when Scott swerved to the right to avoid the animal, Thompson said. He then overcorrected to the left and struck a warning barrel, fishtailing to the right before flipping the vehicle three times.

The car rolled over first on the roadway and a second time in a ditch, ejecting DeWayne and Daijanique from a passenger-side rear window, Thompson said. The car crushed DeWayne on the third roll, killing the boy instantly. The girl escaped serious injury.

Scott and his wife, Marcy, 20, who were wearing seat belts when the accident occurred, and the other children were treated and released from Muskogee Regional Medical Center, Thompson said.