Community Grieves Young Dad Following Fatal Rollover Crash On Highway 169

A high-speed crash killed a young dad on Highway 169 in Tulsa.

Investigators said he was going close to 100 miles per hour. They said it was a horrific crash that shouldn't have happened.

Tulsa Police said Dominik Pulse was speeding down Highway 169, rolled his car several times and was ejected over a 12-foot concrete wall. 

One of his former teachers stopped where the crash happened to pay his respects.

Bits and pieces of the wrecked car were scattered by northbound Highway 169 near 21st Street, the crash killing Dominik Pulse. Seeing the debris left Lawrence Lane with a sick feeling.  

“It’s more devastating than what I thought from what I read online this morning," Lane said. "To see the scene, it's pretty horrific for a 27-year-old to lose their life this early.”

Lane taught school in Checotah for nearly 50 years and still fills in as a substitute teacher. He remembers Pulse as a joking, rambunctious kid who always had a smile on his face.

Pulse's fiancé, Taylor Parker, said he was a goofy, loving dad to two little girls and had a huge heart.

"Dominik was a fiancé and father to two little girls. He was loved by many. He loved his family unconditionally and had the biggest heart. He would give the shirt off his back for anyone. He lit up the room everywhere he went with his goofiness. He will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him especially his little girls."

"I thought I would come pay my respects to a young man I taught," said Lane. "He was a graduate of Checotah High School in 2015, played football, and he later got a scholarship to Emporia State.”

Tulsa Police said Pulse was speeding and he lost control of his car, swerved, rolled off the highway, flipped his vehicle and was ejected over this retaining wall into the backyard of a vacant house.

“It was a high-speed, unrestrained crash," said Officer Craig Heatherly. "When you combine those two, it's difficult for people to survive those crashes.”

TPD Traffic investigator Craig Heatherly estimates the speeds could have been around 100 miles an hour and said this is the third crash at those speeds in Tulsa in the past few days. 

“We’re a week away from Thanksgiving, and now we have several people who died the last few weeks that won't be at that family gathering," he said.

Lane said it bothers him to see a life lost so young. He wants young people to never take life for granted.

“When you lose a young person as young as he was, it bothers me. It's a test to what young people need to be aware of, that life is short, make it sweet, take care of yourself," Lane said. 

Officers are still investigating the crash and said they’re increasing enforcement to pull over people who are speeding or not wearing their seat belts.

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