Victim of fatal I-44 accident identified

The victim of a fatal pedestrian accident on I-44 in northeast Oklahoma early Monday morning has been identified.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says at 4:09 am, dispatchers got a call of a man lying in the inside lane of the westbound traffic on I-44 Will Rogers Turnpike.

Troopers responded to the scene and the vehicles that had stopped did not appear to be the first to strike the subject. The first vehicle to hit the victim is unknown at this time.

63-year-old Edward Eugene Parker Jr of Cuba, Missouri, was on foot along the inside lane of the interstate when he was hit.

A Trooper says he had given Parker a ride from about mile marker 325 eastbound to the convenience store at mile marker 1 in Missouri about 8:30pm the evening before.

The victim had stated he was on his way to Cuba, Missouri. But troopers say for some reason he made his way back to the same area near mile marker 325 on the westbound side this time.

The crash shut down the westbound lanes for nearly six hours as troopers continue their investigation.

Anyone that has information about this collision to contact the Northeast Regional Communications Center at (918) 627-0440.