Fund Set Up For Family Of Broken Arrow Man Killed In Highway Crash

NewsOn6.com

Editor's note:  NewsOn6.com has removed from this story a photo which a number of commenter's found objectionable.  We made the decision after it became clear the photo was becoming the center of the story, not the fact that a person had lost his life in an automobile crash.  

TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- Investigators are working to figure out what caused a fatal crash Tuesday morning in the northbound lanes of State Highway 11, just south of Tulsa International Airport.

The accident happened shortly after 9 a.m.

Tulsa Police say an eastbound SUV on state Highway 11 crossed the center median and struck a northbound car head-on, just north of the Pine Street bridge. 

"This is a very busy road, if you travel it any time during the daytime, it's highly traveled," said Officer Leland Ashley, Tulsa Police Department.

There are median guard rails along the stretch where the accident happened, except for a small gap on a curve.

"There is a slight opening there and that's where he came through in that slight opening," said Ashley.

Police say 32-year-old Charles Kytta III, who was driving the car, was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the SUV, 21-year-old Cody Zimmer, was taken by EMSA to a Tulsa hospital in critical condition. As of Tuesday afternoon, he is still in critical condition.

It took Tulsa firefighters 42 minutes to rescue Zimmer. Fire officials said they had to proceed slowly because the car was on its top and they were afraid it would collapse, further injuring Zimmer.

"Every time that they started cutting, you can't just cut the vehicle away because the heavy part, the chassis and the motor would start sinking down. So they had to cut, shore and support, cut, shore and support," Ashley said.

Investigators are working to determine what may have caused him to cross the median.

"Don't know just yet. Speed might have been a factor, but just can't determine that right now," said Ashley.

They'll also look into other possible causes like texting, or if he fell asleep. Since it was a fatality accident, police say routine drug and alcohol testing will also be done.

A small section of Highway 11 was shut down for a couple of hours because of the wreck, but was later reopened.

Kytta's family has set up two memorial funds in his name: The Charles Kytta Memorial Fund and The Amanda Kytta Education Fund.  Donations can be made at any Bank of Oklahoma location.