STILLWATER, Okla. –
Some Oklahoma State University students are coming together to encourage people to never get behind the wheel drunk.
One of those students was friends with Isabella Clay, the Coweta High School student killed earlier this month in a crash.
Losing a friend
These two college students are hurting.
“She had big things for her,” said Brock Julian about his friend Isabella Clay. “She was a finalist for state FFA office. She was getting her state FFA degree, and she just really had a big impact on people.”
Who was Isabella Clay?
Troopers say Levi Crawford was driving drunk when he crashed into the car Isabella Clay was driving in Haskell.
The crash killed Clay and sent Crawford to the hospital.
Investigators say Crawford’s car crossed the center line into Clay’s lane.
Court documents say Crawford told troopers it was the wrong year and believed he was in a city more than 30 miles away.
Troopers say his blood work showed he had a BAC of more than three times the legal limit.
Crawford has been charged by Muskogee County prosecutors with first-degree manslaughter.
Those who loved Clay say she was driven and had a bright future.
“A lot of people know her, and she was just a really amazing person,” said Julian. “She was amazing to the community. Amazing to anyone that she knew. To know her was to love her.”
Julian remembers when he met her while taking part in FFA.
“She looked a little shy at the start,” said Julian. “I just walked up to her, talked to her, and turned out into a really great friendship.”
Turning pain into purpose
Alyssa Lynch, a student at Oklahoma State University with Julian, reached out to him after hearing about the crash that killed Clay.
“It spoke to me,” said Lynch. “I also lost one of my best friends. I understood exactly what he was feeling in that moment. I reached out like, hey, I’m so incredibly proud of you to be able to speak about this.”
Lynch lost a friend, Jack Sarver, in a drunk driving crash in Durant while they were in high school in 2020.
Bradley Pittman of Atoka was sentenced to more than 30 years in federal prison for the crash that killed Sarver and three other teens.
Those teens were Kaleb Foster, Fernando Flores, and Hunter Ford.
Investigators say Pittman was speeding on Main Street in Durant when he hit the back of their car that was stopped at a traffic light.
Investigators say Pittman’s BAC was three times the legal limit, he was driving on a suspended or revoked driver’s license, and had previously been convicted of DUI on three separate occasions.
The Jack Sarver Project
Lynch’s group, The Jack Sarver Project, hopes to save lives by letting people know how dangerous it is to get behind the wheel after drinking- and offer the victims’ families support.
The Jack Sarver Project, hopes to save lives by letting people know how dangerous it is to get behind the wheel after drinking- and offer the victims’ families support. said Lynch. “It will always be a win in my book.”
She hopes people will get involved to try to keep this from happening to another family.
“People will tell you it’s not a big deal,” said Lynch. “People will tell you that doesn’t happen. I do have to hit them with statistics. But also, I know how it feels and you may not know somebody right now that has gone through it, but you will meet someone in your life that has lost somebody they love to this.”
Lynch says she is finalizing the paperwork to become a nationally registered non-profit group.
For more information on the project, you can visit: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61562800734578
