A Lincoln County man will serve up two decades in prison after a Logan County jury convicted him in a fatal crash that claimed the life of a woman and seriously injured another driver.
Hurcel McCutchen III, 61, of Tryon, was found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree, failure to devote full-time and attention, following a five-day trial last week inside the Logan County Courthouse.
The charges stem from a 2022 crash along State Highway 33 and Pennsylvania Avenue. Investigators say McCutchen, driving a 2019 Kenworth tractor-trailer, struck a vehicle driven by 45-year-old Gayle Lynn Lanoy as she waited to make a turn. The impact forced Lanoy’s vehicle into the opposite lane, colliding with a vehicle driven by Chris Easley.
Lanoy was ejected from her vehicle, which caught fire. She later died at Logan County Mercy Hospital. Easley, who was trapped in his vehicle, was mediflighted to an Oklahoma City hospital with serious injuries.
During the trial, jurors heard testimony from Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers, Guthrie EMS personnel, the state medical examiner, and a nurse who drew McCutchen’s blood. Evidence revealed methamphetamine was present in his system at the time of the crash.
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McCutchen’s attorney, Royce Hobbs, argued that missing evidence from OHP — including measurements and video — weakened the state’s case. Still, jurors deliberated just over three hours before returning a guilty verdict.
In the sentencing phase, the jury learned of McCutchen’s prior drug convictions, including a 2008 guilty plea for meth trafficking in Payne County. After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury sentenced him to 20 years in prison, with Oklahoma law requiring at least 85% of the sentence to be served before parole eligibility. McCutchen will not be eligible for parole until 2042.
Following the verdict, McCutchen was handcuffed in the courtroom and booked into the Logan County Jail. He will later be transferred to a state correctional facility.
Easley, who testified during the trial, had previously filed a civil lawsuit against McCutchen and Brady’s Welding and Machine Shop, Inc. The case was resolved in 2023 through a compromise settlement.
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