A single-vehicle accident in Elk City early Sunday morning, where a car crashed into a pond, remains under investigation.
According to Elk City Fire Chief Kyle Chervenka, the accident sent an unidentified man to an Oklahoma City hospital in critical condition.
Chervenka said authorities were contacted Sunday morning after locals heard a man yelling for help, but the man could not initially be located.
“Beckham County deputies got out there and couldn’t find anything, so they asked for assistance from Elk City PD. They eventually found the car in a pond, directly south of the intersection where Falcon ‘T’s’ to the south at Lakeview,” Chervenka said.
He added that it is suspected the car hit an embankment at a high rate of speed, cleared a five-wire fence, and rolled an undetermined number of times before coming to rest in the pond.
Chervenka stated that authorities had to use extraction tools to cut into the vehicle and free the man, who had suffered a leg injury and was also experiencing hypothermia.
The man was flown to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he was last listed in critical condition.
Chervenka noted that it is suspected the man was unfamiliar with the area, as the car had out-of-state plates.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is currently investigating the crash.
