Alva Review-Courier -

Two men from Oklahoma City have been charged with misdemeanors after a motorist reported his car was damaged by hitting signs lying on the highway.

David Ray Torres, 40, and Lynn Leroy Willis Truelove, 39, have been charged with the leaving the scene of an accident involving damage. The charges were filed July 18 in Alfalfa County. This misdemeanor is punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to $500 or both.

According to court documents, about 10:10 p.m. on July 11 Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Darrin Lancaster was on the way to investigate an accident on US 64 west of Ingersoll. He observed two white crane trucks with hazard lights on stopped one mile east of Ingersoll.

Lancaster continued on to the accident scene one mile west of Ingersoll where he found two fire trucks, one on each end of the scene, an ambulance and a sheriff’s vehicle. His investigation showed that two large signs had come off of a vehicle and landed in the roadway. A silver 2007 Toyota Camry owned by Lonnie Lucero ran over one of the signs, disabling the vehicle.

Lancaster saw that the Ampride sign which had been run over had been moved to the south side of the roadway, and another sign that had fuel pricing had been moved to the north side of the roadway. Lancaster had Alfalfa County Deputy Loren Nusser drive east of Ingersoll to see if both crane trucks were still there. Nusser stated he could not locate them.

The next morning, Lancaster went to Ampride in Alva and learned that Metro Signs Corporation of Oklahoma City had removed the signs. Lancaster made contact with Don Henderson, the supervisor of Metro Signs, who confirmed the company had changed out and removed the signs from Alva Ampride.

Henderson told Lancaster that Lynn Truelove and David Torres were the two men who worked on the signs and removed them. He also said that the men knew they lost the signs, but he understood they had moved them off the roadway and did not know a vehicle had hit them. Lancaster had Henderson contact the men to meet him at Troop J Headquarters in Enid on July 13.

Lancaster interviewed the men in Enid. Torres stated he was about two miles behind Truelove. He said he saw the signs in the roadway and drove by them running over some pieces while traveling east. He said he contacted Truelove and told him he had lost two signs. Torres stated he turned around and drove back by the signs going west, then turned around and stopped, facing east, to remove the signs.

Lancaster asked Torres if he observed a silver vehicle on the south side of the roadway, and he said he did but did not think the vehicle had hit the sign.

Lancaster also asked Torres if he observed emergency vehicles go by while parked east of Ingersoll. Torres said he did but did not think their signs were involved.

Lancaster interviewed Truelove who said Torres called him and told him that he had lost a couple of signs. Truelove said he pulled over one mile east of Ingersoll to check the load and asked Torres to come up and help secure the third sign. Lancaster asked Truelove if he saw the emergency vehicles go by him, and he said he did see them. Lancaster asked if it registered that maybe the signs he lost might have caused an accident, and Truelove said he never thought of that.

Lancaster determined that both Metro Signs vehicles left and headed to Oklahoma City.