A Noel man has been charged with manslaughter in the first degree and driving under the influence of drugs in connection with the December 14, 2021 death of Johnny Houck, 72, Jay, Oklahoma. The head-on collision occurred on OK 43 near the Arkansas line.
Details of the case are included in a search warrant affidavit filed February 17, 2022 and unsealed today in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
The warrant was requested to preserve Tygart's blood and urine samples from Freeman West Hospital, Joplin, where he was airlifted with serious injuries following the crash.
From the search warrant affidavit:
On Tuesday, December 14, 2021, at approximately 8:27 AM, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) Northeast Region Communications Center (NERC) was notified of a two-vehicle, head-on collision that occurred on State Highway 20 near East 370 Road in Delaware County, Oklahoma.
Troopers Carl Turner (“Trooper Turner”) and Brett Watson (“Trooper Watson”) initially responded to the collision scene. I was notified of the collision, and after being briefed on the preliminary information, responded to investigate.
Trooper Turner was the first trooper to arrive at the scene. He observed one vehicle at rest in the roadway, fully engulfed in flames, in the northbound lane. Before Trooper Turner’s arrival, bystanders had pulled the driver out of that vehicle due to the fire, and they were near the vehicle when Trooper Turner arrived.
The other vehicle in the collision, a 1988 Chevrolet pickup was at rest partially blocking the southbound lane. Troopers later learned that the driver of the Chevrolet was ejected during the collision. The driver of the Chevrolet was identified as Johnny Houck, who was later pronounced deceased at the scene by Grove EMS due to injuries sustained during the collision.
Law enforcement later confirmed that Mr. Houck was a member of the Cherokee Nation at the time of his death. The vehicle that caught on fire was not identifiable. The driver of the unknown vehicle was identified as Dustin Shane Tygart.
Suspect Tygart was flown to Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Missouri, and admitted in critical, but stable condition. Due to Suspect Tygart being intubated, investigators were unable to speak with him at Freeman Hospital.
Medical staff refused to allow a trooper access to Tygart’s medical room, so blood samples were not obtained. However, medical staff withdrew blood for medical purposes, and the non-consumed blood samples were preserved to be obtained at a later date pursuant to a search warrant.
The contents of the vehicle Suspect Tygart was driving were consumed by the fire. However, during scene processing and documentation I noted clothes in a plastic bag were placed in the rear of the vehicle after the fire had been put out.
I learned Grove EMS medical personnel had removed the clothes from Suspect Tygart during medical treatment, put the clothes in a plastic bag, and then placed the bag of clothes in the rear of the Suspect Tygart’s vehicle.
Based on the collision evidence, the damage to both vehicles, and statements from two witnesses, troopers determined Suspect Tygart was driving northbound on SH-20 and Mr. Houck was driving southbound. Tygart drove left of center and collided head-on with Mr. Houck in the southbound lane of SH-20. The area of impact was discovered in the southbound lane and was indicated by a gouge and tire mark.
Two witnesses to the collision were identified and gave statements to the events they observed, and of their actions, before and after the collision. The first witness was driving a semi-truck and was directly behind Suspect Tygart while driving north on SH-20.
Witness One observed a red SUV, the vehicle Tygart was driving, swerving across the center line. As Suspect Tygart approached a set of curves, he crossed the center line again and collided head-on with Mr. Houck’s Chevrolet.
The second witness (“Witness Two”) was driving directly behind Witness One’s semi-truck. Witness Two stated he observed the red SUV swerve across the center line multiple times before the collision occurred.
Witness Two stated that when Suspect Tygart’s SUV approached the curve, he drove left of center and the collided with the other vehicle.
Both witnesses exited their vehicles and assisted both drivers. Ultimately, the Suspect Tygart’s SUV caught on fire so both witnesses extracted him from the vehicle. One of the witness vehicles was equipped with a Samsara windshield mounted camera. I obtained the video files from the trucking company.
Based on a review of the digital video, Suspect Tygart could be seen swerving within his lane and driving left of center before the collision occurred.
This driving behavior is depicted in the digital video obtained from a witness vehicle, and statements made by the two witnesses to the collision that indicated Suspect Tygart was swerving and crossed the center line multiple times.
On December 20, 2021, I interviewed Suspect Tygart at Freeman Hospital in Joplin, Missouri. Suspect Tygart stated he did not remember the events leading up to the collision, or the collision itself.
Suspect Tygart recalled getting off work around 7:20 AM, then driving to S and S convenience store in Jay to meet a friend named “Justin.” Suspect Tygart stated he then gave a female subject a ride to another store in Jay, but he did not remember the name of the female subject.
During the interview Suspect Tygart denied any drug use the night before and morning of the collision. However, he stated the last time he used Methamphetamine was about the Friday before the collision occurred. Suspect Tygart also stated he recently had a “dirty” drug test that was sanctioned by his Probation and Parole Officer (PO) in Missouri.
On December 22, 2021, FBI Special Agent Steven Colon and I spoke with Amber Stegall, Suspect Tygart’s PO, and gathered information related to Suspect Tygart’s recent drug usage. Stegall stated the last time she had a scheduled visit from Suspect Tygart, she suspected Suspect Tygart was coming down from his last drug use. The visit occurred on Tuesday, December 9, 2021.
Stegall said she told Suspect Tygart to take an unscheduled urinalysis to test for illicit drugs on that day. Suspect Tygart was allotted two hours to provide a sample to test but was unable to. Suspect Tygart ultimately admitted to Stegall that he had used Methamphetamine sometime around December 1, 2021.
Suspect Tygart signed a client admission form stating he had used illicit drugs and was cited for a violation of his probation. I am also now aware that when the hospital tested Suspect Tygart’s blood on December 14, 2021, for purposes of medical treatment, that it was positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine.
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