Jury selection to begin for Oklahoma man in students’ deaths

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – Jury selection is set to begin in the case of an Oklahoma man charged with murder for crashing his pickup truck into a group of high school cross country runners, killing three and injuring five.

Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn said jury selection will begin Tuesday in the trial of 58-year-old Max Leroy Townsend.

Townsend has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder and multiple counts of fleeing the scene of an accident.

The February 2020 crash in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore killed 16-year-old Yuridia Martinez, 17-year-old Rachel Freeman and 18-year-old Kolby Crum.

Townsend has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney has said he hopes jurors selected for the trial will keep an open mind.