A Calera man police said was an Uber driver was charged last week with two counts of first-degree manslaughter after investigators said a blood test revealed he was under the influence of marijuana during an August 2, 2024, crash that killed two people and injured others.
Thirty-seven-year-old Gary Dale Anderson was also charged with two counts of DUI resulting in great bodily injury.
Clayton Robert Solomon and Carley Ann Tatum, who were passengers in Anderson’s car, were killed when he failed to yield at the Highway 69/75 intersection at Platter Road, according to court documents.
Two other people, Vickie Nannette Ragsdale and Emerson Paige Heron, received numerous broken bones during the crash.
According to a Calera Police affidavit, the crash happened at approximately 9:40 p.m. when a Nissan Pathfinder driven by Anderson pulled out from Platter Road in front of a southbound Toyota Camry driven by Ragsdale on Highway 69/75.
The affidavit states that Heron, Solomon and Tatum were unrestrained in the back seat of the Pathfinder and the force of the collision ejected them through the back window. Solomon was subsequently struck by a northbound car and the driver told police she did not see the body in the roadway until it was too late to avoid hitting it. He was pronounced dead at the scene, while Tatum was declared deceased at Texoma Medical Center.
Anderson had a laceration to the head and he was taken by private vehicle to Alliance-Health in Durant where he received stitches, according to the affidavit. Questioned by police, he said that he was a driver for Uber and that he had picked up the four passengers from a nearby bed and breakfast to take them to the casino.
According to the affidavit, Anderson showed signs of impairment during an examination, but he denied using any drugs although he admitted to smoking marijuana about five days ago and said he had a medical marijuana card.
Video-recorded interviews were conducted with crash victims Heron, a backseat passenger, and Katherine Patricia Collins, who was in the passenger front seat of Anderson’s vehicle. Collins said she felt something was “off” with Anderson and she texted another member of the group riding in a different vehicle that she thought he was a “tweaker.”
Collins remembered that when Anderson drove out into the intersection, she heard a female voice from the backseat yell, “Watch out,” the affidavit states. Collins was not sure who yelled that, but said it was possibly Tatum. Heron said she did not have any memories of the crash.
Last September, a toxicology report was issued on the blood draw obtained from Anderson and it revealed that THC was in his blood, according to the affidavit.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, including the Traffic Homicide Unit, assisted in the investigation that concluded Anderson was under the influence of cannabis at the time of the crash, the affidavit states.
A warrant was issued for Anderson’s arrest and he had not been booked into jail as of press time.