A motorcyclist was killed Oct. 17 during a collision with a car, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.
Bryan County EMS pronounced 64-year-old James Waters of Mead dead at the scene of the 11:22 a.m. crash at Highway 70 and Leavenworth Trail Road about three miles west of Durant.
According to OHP, Waters was driving a Honda motorcycle when Ryan Kozikowski, 51, Colbert, failed to yield at the northbound stop sign on Leavenworth while entering Highway 70. Waters’ motorcycle then struck Kozikowski’s Mazda hatchback car.
Kozikowski received minor injuries to his head and hip and was taken to Alliance-Health in Durant by investigating Trooper Jerrid Hobbie.
In other news, Durant firefi ghters assisted a worker in distress on top of the water tower at Cardinal Glass. Firefi ghters responded at 12:57 p.m. Monday. Firefighters contacted the man by phone and he said that he had an elevated heart rate, shortness of breath and was dizzy, according to a DFD report.
Fire personnel put on safety harnesses, climbed to the top of the tower and went inside the Doppler radar unit where the man was leaning against a wall. The report stated that the man, who was approximately 35 years old, said he had not eaten much that day.
After eating crackers and drinking water, he began to feel better, so he continued to work on the radar, the report stated. The man was then able to climb down the tower with assistance and upon reaching the bottom, he was checked by Bryan County EMS, but declined medical care.
Firefighters were dispatched at 3:23 p.m. Oct. 15 to a house at 729 S. Second Ave. after a mail carrier noticed it was on fire. When firefighters arrived, neighbors were using a water hose to try to put out the fire and also spraying water on nearby house. Firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control and then extinguished it.
The owner told firefighters the house had been vacant for about five months and it was available for rent, according to the report.
The fire caused an estimated $20,000 to the house that was valued at $80,000. The cause of the fire was undetermined.
The Bryan County Sheriff’s Office identified a man who was found deceased on Oct. 14 at the base of the 911 tower on Highway 70 just outside the Durant city limits. He was identified as Jonathan Andrew Taylor of Durant. The sheriff’s office said in a social media post that the investigation was ongoing and it was unclear why Taylor was at the tower.