Background: The 12000 block of OK-59 (Google Maps). Inset left: Tamara L. Wood (Seminole County (Okla.) Sheriff’s Office). Inset right: Justin Wood (Swearingen Funeral Home).
Authorities in Oklahoma have arrested a 37-year-old woman who allegedly ran her husband’s vehicle off the road because she was mad he was talking with another woman.
Tamara Lachelle Wood is facing charges of second-degree murder and reckless driving in the death of 40-year-old Justin Wood. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the Seminole Lighthorse Police Department arrived around 3:30 p.m. Sept. 27 to a two-vehicle crash in the 12000 block of Highway 59.
Cops found a heavily-damaged 2005 BMW SUV that appeared to have rolled over. Next to the vehicle was Justin Wood, who “showed no signs of life” and was pronounced dead on the scene. There also was another vehicle, a 2007 Volvo XC-90, that had minor damage to its right front bumper.
The Volvo’s driver, Tamara Wood, told troopers with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol that both she and her husband were traveling “really fast” — she said they were both going “ninety something,” cops wrote. She claimed her husband “slammed on his brakes” and she crashed into him and the SUV rolled over several times, ejecting him. She said the two got into an argument at their son’s basketball game after she learned he was talking to another woman, the affidavit said. The suspect said she was trying to track him down so they could speak, cops wrote.
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Witnesses described how “she was just bumper-to-bumper with him” moments before the crash. One witness estimated the pair may have been going upward of 100 mph.
Troopers spoke with Justin Wood’s mom, who explained that her son and his wife had four kids together but had been separated and he was considering filing for divorce. She said he called her on the day of the crash.
“Momma, she’s trying to run me off the road! She’s trying to run me off the road! Momma! Momma! Momma!” his mother recalled him saying.
She then heard “metal scraping” and the vehicle crashing, cops said.
Cops also spoke with two of the couple’s children, who confirmed that their mother was upset that their father was exchanging text messages with another woman. Tamara Wood apparently caused “a scene” in the gym and her husband walked outside and left in his SUV. His wife followed, cops said.
Now their four kids lost their father and have a mother facing serious prison time.
“He’s the best dad that I could ever ask for,” Wyatt Wood, 13, told local ABC affiliate KOCO. “He’s the reason I am the way I am and the reason I play sports and love basketball.”
The District 22 District Attorney’s Office issued the arrest warrant on Friday. She was eventually apprehended Tuesday afternoon, KOCO reported. Jail records indicate she is in the custody of the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’re going to hold her responsible for her actions that resulted in the death of her husband,” District Attorney Erik Johnson told local ABC and NBC affiliate KTEN.
