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May 1, 2008

Man killed in bicycle wreck remembered

By Robert Barron, Staff Writer

It will take two people to fill the hole in Dr. Michael Ogle’s emergency department staff at Integris Bass Baptist Health Center.

The void was created when physician’s assistant David Lee Harrison died Wednesday morning of injuries suffered when he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle Tuesday.

“If he needed help he asked for it, if not he took care of patients,” Ogle said. “He didn’t make a fuss out of caring for the patient. He worked 55 hours a week for me, he was a hard worker. It will take two people to fill that hole.”

Harrison worked with Ogle’s group six years in both the emergency department and Urgent Care Plus. Ogle said Harrison could be soft and comforting or a firm disciplinarian, whichever was needed. He was raised in Huntington Beach, Calif., by an Asian mother and a military father.

“He loved being outdoors, whether above the sea or below the sea. He liked the coast. He liked biking, any athletic event outside,” Ogle said.

Harrison really liked to scuba dive, although he had few opportunities to go. Several members of the Integris staff went with him on a few trips.

According to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report, Harrison was riding a Allez Vittoria bicycle when he was struck at 5:40 p.m. Tuesday by a 2008 Toyota Avalon, driven by Duard Spleth, 84, of Waukomis.

Spleth said he was driving south on Oakwood when he looked down to adjust his air conditioning control on the steering wheel and hit Harrison’s bicycle from behind. Harrison was thrown an unknown distance, the report states.

Harrison was taken to St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center and died at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday from his injuries.

OHP Trooper Jeff Jech said a witness told him she passed both the bicyclist and the car, then looked in her rearview mirror and saw the bicycle fly into the air.

Spleth was uninjured. The cause of the accident is listed as a distraction inside the vehicle.

The accident is under investigation, according to an OHP supervisor, who said no further information is available at this time.

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