Man dies after crashing into I-35 pub

By M. Scott Carter
The Norman Transcript

July 28, 2008 11:45 pm

— A Moore man died Sunday night seconds before crashing his pickup truck into the patio of a pub just off Interstate 35 in far north Norman.
Norman police said Norman Keith Lewis, 56, was killed after crashing his Ford F-150 pickup into two brick pillars in the patio of Mooney’s Pub and Bar, 6221 N. Interstate Drive. The pub — formerly the home of the Indian Hills Steakhouse — recently had opened.
Police said a preliminary investigation showed Lewis was traveling northbound on Interstate Drive East and went off the right side of the roadway.
Lewis’ pickup, officers said, traveled through the grass until it struck two brick patio pillars of the pub.
Staff members at the pub believed Lewis was dead when his truck hit the building.
“I’m pretty sure he was dead when he hit our patio,” said Sherry Gleim, Mooney’s co-owner. “Our staff tried to help, but he wasn’t responsive. We called 911 and they said not to move him out of the vehicle.”
Monday, a state official confirmed that Lewis died before hitting the building. Kevin Rowland, chief investigator at the state medical examiner’s office, said Lewis died of a heart attack while driving.
Gleim said she spoke with Lewis’ wife on Monday who told her Lewis had spent Sunday afternoon golfing with his son, just before the accident.
“She hadn’t heard from him and went looking for him,” Gleim said.
Gleim said Lewis’ vehicle stopped when it struck the pub’s fire pit and damage to the patio and the surrounding railing was heavy.
“We don’t know the extent yet,” she said. “But it destroyed the fire pit and the railing.”
The accident is being investigated by members of the Collision Investigation Reconstruction Team of the Norman Police Department.