EL RENO — The mother of one of four young Oklahomans killed in the May 22 wrong-way crash on Interstate 40 is asking the public to stop turning the tragedy into a political debate and instead remember the victims whose lives were cut short.
In a social media post this week, Shirley Barnes Salazar, whose daughter Haliegh Salazar, 18, was among those killed in the collision near Yukon, said her family’s focus remains on honoring the victims and seeking justice through the courts.
“It could have been anyone behind that wheel, regardless of the color of their skin or where they came from,” Barnes Salazar wrote. “Our only concern is that the person responsible is held fully accountable through the justice system for the lives taken and the devastation caused.”
According to investigators, four young people died when a vehicle traveling the wrong way on Interstate 40 collided with their vehicle, causing a fire. The victims were identified as Haliegh Salazar, 18; Kiercy Hickson, 20; Quincy Jones, 19; and Brad Palmer, 18.
Authorities have charged Michael Rosario-Cruz in Canadian County District Court with four counts of second-degree murder, along with misdemeanor counts of carrying a firearm while under the influence and transporting an open container of an intoxicating beverage. Investigators have said evidence indicated alcohol was a factor in the crash. The criminal case remains pending.
The case has also become the subject of public debate after state and federal officials commented on Rosario-Cruz’s immigration status. Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials have said Rosario-Cruz is not a U.S. citizen and had authorization to live and work in the United States through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Barnes Salazar said discussions about race, citizenship status and politics are distracting from the families’ grief.
“In Haliegh’s name, and in honor of her friends and all the families grieving, I respectfully ask that people stop turning this into something political or racial,” she wrote. “Right now, our focus should be on our babies, remembering who they were, honoring their lives, and laying them to rest with love and dignity.”
Funeral services for the victims have been held or scheduled in recent days as families and communities continue to mourn their loss. Relatives have shared tributes and messages of remembrance while preparing to honor the lives of the four young people killed in the crash.
