On February 15th at 12:35pm, Guthrie County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the scene of a crash.

Eric Ireland, 43 of Scranton was traveling southbound on the 3300th block of Frontier Road when he crossed the centerline. From there, the vehicle crossed the northbound lane, entered the east ditch, struck a field drive and went airborne. When the vehicle came down, it landed front end first, then flipped half a turn to land on the roof of the vehicle.

The front passenger, Bridgette Perez, was ejected through the windshield and landed on the ground, with the vehicle missing her by only a few feet when it flipped.Ireland was also not wearing a seatbelt, and landed upside down on the roof of the vehicle after it came to rest following the flip. A female juvenile was fastened into a car seat in the back of the vehicle. Ireland told officials he believes he fell asleep prior to the incident. He and Perez were transported by Stuart and Adair Emergency Medical Services to the Guthrie County Hospital.

Ireland is charged with three traffic violations: failure to prove security against liability – accident related, failure to maintain control and failure to use a safety belt. Perez is charged with failure to use a safety belt.