Correctional officer killed in crash with co-worker’s vehicle

Oklahoma state prison officials are mourning the death of a correctional officer, whose vehicle collided with a pickup truck driven by a fellow correctional officer from John Lilley Correction Center.

Officials say it was just a tragic coincidence that 31-year-old Cpl. Robert Sumner was on Highway 62 early Sunday morning on his way to Edmond to work a hospital shift at the same time that 20-year-old Cpl. Andrew Freppon was on the same highway on his way to work at John Lilley Correctional Center in the town of Boley.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers say their two vehicles crashed into each other about a mile east of the town of Meeker.

They say Sumner was pronounced dead at the scene and that Freppon was flown to a hospital in Oklahoma City with leg and trunk injuries.

Oklahoma Department of Corrections officials say Freppon underwent surgery and is listed in stable condition.

Officials say the two men graduated from the same ODOC academy class in November last year.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

ODOC says the 2022 Chrysler Voyager that Sumner was driving is a state-issued vehicle.

They say Freppon was driving his personal vehicle, a 2020 Chevy Silverado.

Troopers say both men were wearing seatbelts and that airbags deployed in both vehicles.

They say the weather was clear and the road was dry.