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Mercedes Martinez 2 of 2

Case # :1144

Gender : Female

Age : 26

Race : Latinx

Date : 08/15/2022

Location : I-35

City : Norman

County : Cleveland

State : Oklahoma

Agency : Oklahoma Highway Patrol

Officer(s) :Nick Mills

Cause of Death : Vehicle, PIT

Event : Killed by police chase crash

Disposition : No known charges

Open Records Summary :

An officer attempted a traffic stop and allege the driver failed to stop. After a pursuit, the officer performed a PIT maneuver to stop the vehicle, causing the vehicle to crash. The officer initially denied having caused the fatal accident but it was determined that dashcam video proved otherwise. Mercedes Martinez and Ethan Mestes both died. Both had been unarmed. Despite evidence that the officer had caused the double fatality, Officer Nick Mills was not charged. Instead, the driver who had been hunted by Mills, Alex Carpenter, husband of Mercedes Martinez was sentenced to 20 years in Oklahoma prison.

Source Links :

https://www.chieftain.com/story/news/2022/09/10/mercedes-martinez-pueblo-second-person-killed-oklahoma-patrol-chase/65857029007/

https://www.normantranscript.com/news/destroyed-family-mourns-death-data-contradicts-ohp-pursuit-claims/article_42166bb2-262e-11ed-bebd-87ba1af504b2.html

https://kfor.com/news/local/second-passenger-dies-following-pursuit-crash/

https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-regional/crime-courts/trooper-denies-causing-double-fatal-crash-while-video-of-pursuit-shows-otherwise/article_78ac2472-0ec3-11ee-88a3-4fe406a68d78.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/oklahoma/comments/152715j/trooper_denies_causing_doublefatal_crash_while/