Channel 4 Storm Chase Vehicle Involved in Accident

[Sean Ramsey]

Reportedly,during the storm, a member of the 4Warn Storm Team’s chase crews was T-boned by a driver, who reportedly ran a stop sign. At the scene, KFOR was told the driver who hit our crew was an amateur storm chaser and that he reportedly blew through a stop sign. KFOR storm tracker Conner Tune suffered some cuts and deep bruises, and his truck is a total loss, but he and his chasing partner, Blaze Edwards, were discharged from the hospital Thursday night.

Yeah but the million dollar question is who was the person who T-boned them? Unless they were a minor I'm not sure why this information is being so tightly withheld.

 

[Evan Hawkins]

Reportedly,during the storm, a member of the 4Warn Storm Team’s chase crews was T-boned by a driver, who reportedly ran a stop sign. At the scene, KFOR was told the driver who hit our crew was an amateur storm chaser and that he reportedly blew through a stop sign. KFOR storm tracker Conner Tune suffered some cuts and deep bruises, and his truck is a total loss, but he and his chasing partner, Blaze Edwards, were discharged from the hospital Thursday night.

Looking more at it, the vehicle is totaled, other than a few scratches and bruises (as well as Blaze Edwards having a cracked sternum) no-one got too seriously injured, the other person was released the Friday after the actual team, he was released after saying that he was undergoing observation overnight at the time of the crash

 

[Evan Hawkins]

Yeah but the million dollar question is who was the person who T-boned them? Unless they were a minor I'm not sure why this information is being so tightly withheld.

looking into it

 

[Evan Hawkins]

looking into it

Couldn't find anything but I'll update people in this forum as I do find something

 

[S Klein]

I spoke with Connor yesterday, he said he's still really sore and feels "banged up," but all things considered he's fine. I didn't ask for detail, I'm sure he'll talk about it when he's ready, and we'll find out who hit him (unless no one knows and all we have is a vehicle description).

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I strongly disagree with this statement, I think there should be gatekeeping to some degree. Is asking someone to take Skywarn classes gatekeeping? Technically, but it's not an unreasonable ask! If someone doesn't have the patience to spend a few hours learning the basics, they don't have the discipline for and shouldn't be chasing!

Other drivers are probably my #1 deterrent to chasing well-hyped set ups, my second is a crippling fear of bed bugs. I don't think most people should chase storms; they lack the attention span, knowledge, driving skills, and attitude to be doing this, and they shouldn't!

 

[Jeff Smith]

My issue is with the dude in the RFD. He was on Hwy 75, I was on 169 to the east and encountered the same RFD. Whether they were "freaking out" for the audience or genuinely scared because they were "in the tornado" (LMAO), that behavior leads to terrible crashes (not just hydroplaning and ending up in the ditch like these kids did. They were lucky.

 

[Randy Zipser]

More information. Unfortunately, we still don't know the name of the chaser who "ran the stop sign."

https://kfor.com/news/local/kfor-4warn-storm-tracker-injured-in-crash-during-tornadic-storms/

Here's one possible way to find out the identity of the chaser who "caused" this accident. I don't know the details about this incident (being from out-of-state), but it would seem that the OHP trooper who answered the call that night would have filed an accident report as routine procedure for any vehicle accident. That report may be available publicly under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), so I did a Google query. The screenshot attached below shows an AI response for how that information can be obtained for a vehicle accident in the state of Oklahoma. Note the paragraph at the very bottom about OHP-investigated accidents. It involves a few more steps than just going online at Crashdocs (i.e. may not be available publicly), and will cost at least seven bucks to get the sought details...but there is a pathway for those inclined to pursue it.

 

[Warren Faidley]

Might be easier to have someone in OK do it? Like others have noted here and on social media, the lack of information is curious. I'm assuming there might be some legal reasons, or maybe the driver is somehow commercially linked to a sponsor or business? It's generally better PR for people to come forward before the rumor mill eats them alive. My guess is that he's an unknown local.

 

[JamesCaruso]

I would not be surprised if this starts a new round of "legislation" discussions in Oklahoma.

I had the exact same thought - especially when I read this line in the article you posted:

“Over the years the 4Warn Storm Team has talked about how dangerous this work has become with so many people on the roads trying to track storms.”

Next is “See, this is why during severe weather situations we need priority access and the roads cleared of amateur chasers!”

 

[Evan Hawkins]

Might be easier to have someone in OK do it? Like others have noted here and on social media, the lack of information is curious. I'm assuming there might be some legal reasons, or maybe the driver is somehow commercially linked to a sponsor or business? It's generally better PR for people to come forward before the rumor mill eats them alive. My guess is that he's an unknown local.

other than them saying he was an armature chaser, we don't have much facts, hopefully we figure this stuff out

 

[Randy Zipser]

I'm assuming there might be some legal reasons, or maybe the driver is somehow commercially linked to a sponsor or business?

Unless it was a case of hit-and-run, DUI, death of a minor/under-aged driver, or driving without a valid driver's license, etc., all of which are serious infractions, it should be difficult to keep it under wraps. Oklahoma does have an open public disclosure law for vehicle accidents, but there are some "restrictions." However, doing "research" on a particular incident for a legitimate purpose might be enough to get around such restriction(s) if made known during the discovery process stated in the screenshot (see post #22).

Other than just satisfying one's curiosity, would it make a difference if a local (OK) member of ST look into this for the stated purpose of making the individual(s) responsible for this accident aware of the proper and safe way to chase storms, assuming he/she/they might be young and inexperienced, but potentially a future member of the storm chasing community? An argument could be made that ST would be the best online advocate to make its existence known and to reach out to the driver in this (or any future similar) case since it's membership is more than nine-thousand storm chasers strong.

 

[Evan Hawkins]

Unless it was a case of hit-and-run, DUI, death of a minor/under-aged driver, or driving without a valid driver's license, etc., all of which are serious infractions, it should be difficult to keep it under wraps. Oklahoma does have an open public disclosure law for vehicle accidents, but there are some "restrictions." However, doing "research" on a particular incident for a legitimate purpose might be enough to get around such restriction(s) if made known during the discovery process stated in the screenshot (see post #22).

Other than just satisfying one's curiosity, would it make a difference if a local (OK) member of ST look into this for the stated purpose of making the individual(s) responsible for this accident aware of the proper and safe way to chase storms, assuming he/she/they might be young and inexperienced, but potentially a future member of the storm chasing community? An argument could be made that ST would be the best online advocate to make its existence known and to reach out to the driver in this (or any future similar) case since it's membership is more than nine-thousand storm chasers strong.

I didn't think of that until you said something, do we know anything about the vehicle? it could've been stolen and they put their own plates on it to make it seem like it wasn't, I can try to plate search and find something out

 

[Evan Hawkins]

I didn't think of that until you said something, do we know anything about the vehicle? it could've been stolen and they put their own plates on it to make it seem like it wasn't, I can try to plate search and find something out

heck, I just thought of this too, even if it was a hit&run it still could've been stolen. but if they did run, how would we know the info of the guy that we do

 

[Warren Faidley]

Since we don’t yet know the circumstances, I’d be reluctant to place blame on anyone at this point. I’m not suggesting we uncover the person’s name just to chastise them, but rather to document the event and learn from any mistakes.

If it turns out the individual has a history of reckless driving near storms, that would be a different matter. We’ve seen chase-related fatal accidents before where others were aware of dangerous driving habits and chose not to speak up.

It’s also worth noting that this was not a hit-and-run. According to reports, the other driver was transported to the hospital.