Teen Killed in High-Speed Paintball Battle
By Associated Press
1 hour ago
JENKS, Okla. - An SUV carrying high school football players having a paintball fight with teammates in another vehicle flew out of control on a highway and flipped, killing a 17-year-old boy, officials said.
The teens had just left a paintball adventure park Wednesday afternoon after meeting up other players and coaches from the Jenks High School football team, said Les Miller, manager of Paintball Adventure Games.
Seven of them were speeding down a highway in the two vehicles, shooting paintball pellets at each other, when the SUV crossed the median into oncoming traffic, struck a sign and then flipped several times, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.
Garrett Austin Bennett, 17, died on the highway outside Tulsa. Two other teenagers were treated for minor injuries and released from a hospital.
"I have seen a lot of horseplay over the past years, but I think this is the first time I have ever seen somebody playing paintball at 75 mph," said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Pete Norwood. "The highway is no place to play."
Results of an investigation into the crash will be turned over to prosecutors, who will determine whether any criminal charges will be filed.
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