Wrong way Oklahoma driver crash leaves Katelyn Callahan, bride to be dead, fiance, Tristen Cherry in coma for almost a month and DUI driver, Sergio Ibarra facing multiple charges.
A wrong way ‘drunk’ driver in Oklahoma is alleged to have crashed into a vehicle driven by a couple set to be married weeks away only to leave the bride to be dead at the scene and the groom in a coma.
Katelyn Callahan, 23, and Tristen Cherry, 24, were returning home from the Calf Fry Festival in Stillwater with two teenagers when the alleged DUI driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City slammed into their car around 2:30 a.m. on May 2, according to reports.
Oklahoma couple were weeks away from tying the knot when tragedy struck
‘I kind of sat up in my seat, and I see headlights,’ Cherry, who was riding in the backseat and spent nearly a month in a coma, told KJRH of the final seconds before tragedy struck.
‘I said, ‘Katelyn, I love you.’ And we hit.”
Callahan, who was driving, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The pair, who had been together for three years, were set to tie the knot on May 31 in Bristow.
Cherry, who suffered nearly five dozen facial fractures, a lacerated kidney, lost teeth, had his mouth wired shut and underwent multiple surgeries, received news of his fiancee’s death just days after waking up from his coma, the outlet reported.
‘It’s taken me some time,’ said the restaurant manager, who has since been discharged.
‘Still do, to understand. But it’s not the easiest thing in the world. I talk to Katelyn every day. The most I can ask for at this point is healing. That’s from head to toe. Healing takes time, and time takes healing. So I’m just letting time go by.’
Tristen Cherry Oklahoma City groom spends what should have been his wedding day in hospital
The alleged drunk driver, Sergio Ibarra, 29, was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter and three counts of driving under the influence, People reported.
Ibarra and his 36-year-old passenger, Alex Alvarado, were also hospitalized, along with the teen riders in the mangled car, following the tragic incident, FOX25 reported.
A heartbroken Cherry spent what was should have been his wedding day in the hospital, surrounded by family and members of his bridal party.
‘I saw Katelyn in her wedding dress in pictures,’ Cherry said, KJRH reported.
‘She was gorgeous. All my groomsmen came up. Some of her bridesmaids came up. It was her family, my family. It was a great time.’
The couple described their relationship as ‘the greatest love story this town has ever seen,’ according to their wedding website.
Cherry a local restaurant manager and his nursing student love became ‘inseparable’ after he invited her to be his date at his fraternity’s formal, calling the pairing ‘God’s plan.’
‘The two…still adore the time they first locked eyes and felt the strength they both had for each other, little did they know they’d be getting married in the near future,’ the wedding website said.
‘The love continues to grow as days go by and forever shall they both live healthy and compassionate, sharing their heart and soul, blood in blood out, undying love.’
A GoFundme to support Kate’s family has since raised more than $17K.
