2nd Student Dies After Driver Slams Into High School Runners In Oklahoma

MOORE, Oklahoma (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Classes hadn't been dismissed very long on February 3 when the driver of a pickup roared down a street near Moore High School in Oklahoma. The man crashed into several cars before hopping a curb and slamming into a group of high school cross country runners.

Senior Rachel Freeman died at the scene. Tuesday morning doctors at OU Medical Center confirmed another teen who had been hospitalized in critical condition, Yuridia Martinez, had died.

It wasn't long after the teens were struck that officials identified the driver, Max Leroy Townsend, as a man whose son had been killed in a traffic crash just days before.

Moore police Sgt. Jeremy Lewis said authorities believe the students were running on the sidewalk when they were struck. Authorities had previously said they were running along a street outside Moore High School.

Three other students remained hospitalized with injuries. Student Kolby Crum was in critical condition at Oklahoma Children's Hospital, according to spokeswoman April Sandefer, while students Joseph White and Shiloh Hutchinson were in fair condition. Student Ashton Baza was released Monday night.

The ages of the students have not been released.

A vigil is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Moore High School gym.

Police arrested Townsend, 57, who was booked into the Cleveland County jail on charges of first-degree manslaughter and six counts of failure to stop and render aid.

Police suspect alcohol was a factor, according to Lewis, who said results from toxicology tests were pending.

"That won't be for quite a while," Lewis said. "That's a blood test that requires being sent to a lab."

Townsend has a lengthy criminal history in Oklahoma that includes possession of drugs and stolen property, stalking, public intoxication, child abuse and multiple convictions for driving under the influence, court records show. He served time in prison on convictions for child abuse, receiving stolen property and possession of drugs, but was released in 2009, state prison records show.

Lewis said Townsend's son, Cody Townsend, was killed Sunday in a multi-vehicle crash in Moore.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)