By Mike Elswick
Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.
CHECOTAH, Okla. — Justin Durrett was remembered by friends, family and co-workers as a well-liked member of the community and a professional leader as assistant chief of police in Checotah.
Durrett, 34, died early Monday afternoon from injuries resulting from a one-vehicle wreck on an icy roadway Feb. 11, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
Checotah Police Chief Darren Glover called Durrett an important member of the department’s leadership team.
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“Justin is a natural leader, and everyone around here knows him and loves him,” Glover said. “He’s been with the department about 13 years and has been my assistant chief for just a little over a year.”
Glover said Durrett is the father of two children. He is the son of Margaret and David Prokup of Checotah.
Funeral services are pending with Garrett Family Funeral Home of Checotah. A spokesman for the Checotah Police Department said the body was taken back to Checotah late Monday with an escort of law enforcement officers.
An online GoFundMe account has been set up to assist the family with expenses and can be contributed to at: www.gofundme.com/assistant-chief-justin-durrett. The account had a goal of $20,000 and had received more than $17,000 in donations by late Monday afternoon, including a $10,000 contribution from Carrie Underwood Fisher, Grammy award-winning entertainer from Checotah.
A posting on the GoFundMe account site said Durrett had dedicated his life to keeping people in community safe.
“He is loved by many because he has loved everyone so much the love pours out when we see people praying for him,” the online comment said. “This man would give the shirt off his back for anyone and I just want to ask for help on his behalf and children. They are suffering (from) daddy not being able to walk or talk to them.”
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OHP officials said Durrett, 35, was pronounced dead at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa at approximately 12:30 p.m. Monday. He was seriously injured about 6:35 a.m. Feb. 11 when he lost control of the 2006 F-150 he was driving southbound on Oklahoma 71, OHP said.
Several benefits, including one held in Muskogee on Saturday at Chavas Mexican restaurant, have been held to help the family defray related expenses connected to his hospitalization. Glover said an account has also been set up at First Family Credit Union in Checotah in Justin Durrett’s name so that anyone who wants to contribute may do so.
“We’re asking anyone wishing to help with donations to contribute,” Glover said.
Highway Patrol officers said at the time of the wreck, Durrett was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected and pinned under the overturned F-150 pickup. Durrett was initially transported to Stigler Hospital and transferred to the Tulsa medical center with injuries to the head, trunk, arms and legs, OHP said.
The wreck took place about three miles south of Enterprise in Haskell County.
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Longtime friend and fellow law enforcement officer Haskell County Sheriff Tim Turner said Misty Johnson, one of his deputies, found the overturned pickup after she had gotten off of her shift ending at 6 a.m. Feb. 11.
“At first, she thought it was a vehicle abandoned from the night before because of the icy conditions,” Turner said. “Then, she heard his cell phone ringing and him calling for help.”
Turner said Durrett apparently hit a patch of “black ice” on the road causing his vehicle to leave the road and flip over, ejecting him and pinning him for an estimated 45 minutes before Johnson found the wreck.
©2018 the Muskogee Phoenix (Muskogee, Okla.)