Man hit, killed running across darkened OKC Hefner Parkway

-- Mental health crisis may have been a factor - UPDATED

OKLAHOMA CITY — A man who ran into traffic was hit and killed by multiple vehicles on the Hefner Parkway after dark Tuesday.

According to the overnight OKCPD Public Information Officer MSgt John Lapuza, a man in his 40s was being taken by his mother to Baptist/Integris Hospital at NW Expressway and Independence because he was having a mental health crisis.

UPDATE — The man who was killed has now been identified as Michael Liles, 46.

While driving southbound on the Hefner Parkway, “his crisis got worse, and she pulled over to the side of the road to check on him and that’s when he got out of the vehicle, started running in traffic,” said Lapuza.

The location of the incident was close to the base of the NW 63rd Street exit ramp on the southbound side.

The first call to come into 911 was at 8:31 PM, well after dark, and in an area of the Hefner parkway that is not lit.

Police pronounced him dead at the scene.

According to investigators, about five people who may have hit the man pulled over immediately and called 911. The drivers cooperated with investigators at the scene and were not cited with criminal offenses, according to Lapuza.

Lapuza said the body was badly damaged from multiple vehicles hitting it at highway speeds of around 60-70 miles per hour.

Out of respect for surviving family members, Free Press will not go into further detail about extensive damage to the man’s body. The area where the body was on the roadway has been pixelated in the photo of the scene above.

The witnesses who waited told investigators at the scene that some other vehicles may have run over the body and didn’t seem to realize it as they traveled on down the parkway, according to the PIO.

Wednesday, investigators will continue to follow up on who might have seen the incident or may have been involved.

This report will be updated as more reliable information is released.


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