Transcribed Obituary for Okmulgee County, Oklahoma
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Transcribed & Submitted by: Shelley Lynch		
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McCLENDON -- OHP Trooper William Lloyd "Bill", of Mounds, OK, was born September 19, 1969, in Oklahoma 
City, OK, the son of Pete and Audrey Weston Clonce. He passed away Sunday, October 1, 2006, in an auto 
accident, on the Will Rogers Turnpike near Claremore, OK, while on duty. He was 37 years old. A 1989 
graduate of Drumright High School, Trooper McClendon had been a resident of Mounds for the past 15 years. 
He graduated from the Highway Patrol Academy in 1998, and was highly decorated, having received numerous 
awards including, "Trooper of the Year." He and Hope Keizor, were married September 19, 1992, in Henryetta, 
OK. Trooper McClendon attended the Enville Community Church. He was preceded in death by his father, Cleo 
McClendon. He is survived by: his wife, Hope McClendon of the home; 2 sons, Dakota Tyler McClendon of Olive, 
OK and Maverick Levi McClendon of the home; daughter, Kendra Jade McClendon of the home; parents, Pete and 
Audrey Clonce of Tulsa; nephew, Richard Lee McClendon of Drumright; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Carol 
and Don Keizor of Enville Community. Service will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, October 5, 2006 at Marietta 
School Auditorium, Marietta, OK, with Rev. Don Keizor, Rev. Frank Trent and OHP Trooper Lance Schroyer officiating. 
Casket Bearers will be the OHP Trooper Honor Guard. Honorary Bearers will be Richard Lee McClendon, C.A. Robinson, 
Ron Willis, Scott Collins, and OHP Troopers: Lance Schroyer, Scott Lee, Brian Costanza, Lt. Bob Griffith and 
Steve McCroskey. Interment will follow at 4 p.m., Thursday, at Green Hill Cemetery, Sapulpa, OK. 
Service is under the direction of Flanagan-Watts Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 
100 E. Main, Marietta, OK 73448, (580) 276-3371.  

Published in the Tulsa World on 10/4/2006 
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Fund set up for trooper's children
By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
10/7/2006 (tulsa world)
A memorial fund has been established to benefit the family of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper who was killed Sunday 
in a double-fatality crash on Interstate 44 near Claremore.
Funeral services for William Lloyd "Bill" McClendon, 37, of Mounds were held Thursday.
Donations can be made at any SpiritBank location in Oklahoma mailed to the William McClendon 
Children's Fund, attention: Brandi Haskins, 1800 S. Baltimore Ave., Suite 1040, Tulsa, OK 74119.
Hussein Haji-ege Osman, 25, who was driving a 2002 Peterbilt tractor-trailer rig, also was killed in the crash.
McClendon attempted a U-turn a distance in front of Osman's truck before the crash, and an inspection of Osman's 
vehicle revealed a braking system defect that was a contributing factor in the accident, OHP Trooper 
Kera Philippi said. The Department of Public Safety is still investigating the crash.
McClendon, who had his emergency lights activated, was trying to cut through a gap in the concrete 
barrier that separates the four-lane Will Rogers Turnpike, a maneuver allowed by Oklahoma law, Philippi said.
Statutes, however, do not "relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive 
with due regard for the safety of all persons," nor do they "protect the driver from the consequences 
of reckless disregard for the safety of others."
Members of the Osman family visited the state Medical Examiner's Office in Tulsa this week to 
obtain information about the cause and manner of Osman's death, a spokesman for the office said.
Attempts to reach his family have been unsuccessful. 
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Road 'shepherd' mourned
By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
10/6/2006 (Tulsa World)
 
Trooper killed in crash is lauded as family man, pal
MARIETTA -- Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper William Lloyd "Bill" McClendon spoke often of the strength of bonds forged 
in the OHP community, his father-in-law, the Rev. Don Keizor, said. "If anything ever happens to me," Keizor quoted
 McClendon as saying to the pastor once, "you'll know it." That was evident Thursday.
Gov. Brad Henry and hundreds of uniformed law enforcement and emergency personnel from across the state 
were among an estimated 1,000 people who turned out to mourn and salute the public servant at the Marietta school auditorium.
McClendon, 37, was killed Sunday when his 2006 Dodge Charger cruiser collided with a tractor-trailer rig on the Will Rogers 
Turnpike about six miles northeast of Claremore. The trooper was attempting to make a U-turn when he was struck by a 2002 
Peterbilt driven by Hussein Haji-ege Osman, 25, of Kansas City, Mo., who also died in the afternoon accident, the patrol said.
McClendon, of Mounds, is the eighth OHP trooper since 1978 to die in a traffic crash while on the job.
The Rev. Frank Trent, an Ada pastor who officiated the service with Keizor, called McClendon "a great shepherd" of the roadway who
knew how to spot trouble.
"Bill watched the highway like the Lord watches you and I," Trent said.
The standing-room-only audience featured uniformed law enforcement officers of every level and hue, including an 
estimated 200 from the OHP alone.
McClendon's flag-draped casket sat surrounded by flowers and framed photographs of the eight-year OHP veteran.
After the funeral, a motorcade snaked its way north for a 3.5-hour trek to Sapulpa, where row upon row of officers 
lined up again to say goodbye at his Green Hill Memorial Gardens burial site.
At the Marietta service, friends and family remembered McClendon as a man who polished his badge and took a shine to his wife, 
Hope, and their sons Dakota, 17, and Maverick, 13, and daughter Kendra, 10.
Keizor, who said McClendon "cherished and spoiled" his family, read short letters that Kendra and 
Maverick wrote to their father after his death.
"My daddy was always there for me," said Keizor, reciting Kendra's note. "When I needed him, when I felt down, he was always there."
Maverick wrote that his father would continue to keep watch over him "through holes in the floor of heaven."
Lightening the mood, Keizor recalled a weekend trip when he took McClendon hunting. The clergyman said he
wondered how a man who carried a gun for a living could be such a poor shot.
"The guy could not hit quail," said Keizor, chuckling.
A member of Troop XE and assigned to the Creek Turnpike, McClendon graduated from the OHP Academy in 1998.
Lance Schroyer joined the force a couple of years later and soon the pair became partners and best friends, he said.
The trooper said he admired the work ethic of McClendon, who was always bragging about his children's achievements.
"He always would call and say, 'What's up, bro? Need anything?' " Schroyer said. "But when Bill said that, 
Bill meant that. If you needed anything, he would do it."
Schroyer related a poignant story about McClendon's giddiness about giving. The month leading up to the 
birth of Schroyer's son, who is now 6 months old, McClendon would call his partner daily, telling him he 
had a gift for the child, Schroyer said.
The day before Schroyer's wife went to the hospital to deliver, McClendon finally revealed the surprise: "a little onesie."
The garment read "Highway Patrolman" on the front and "Protected by Dad's partners" on the back.
"You've never seen a grown man so excited," Schroyer said. 
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 Support fund
 
An account has been established for the children of Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper William McClendon.
The account has been set up at Spirit Bank in Tulsa under the “William McClendon Children’s Fund.”
Checks can be sent to SpiritBank, Attn: Brandi Haskins, 1800 S. Baltimore Ave., Suite 1040, Tulsa, OK, 74119.
The phone number for the fund is 295-7243.
Checks should be made out to the William McClendon Children’s Fund.

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Aunt tells of trucker's family aid
By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
10/10/2006 (tulsa world)
The truck driver who was killed Oct. 1 in a turnpike crash with an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper's car was a 
Kenya native who had ventured from Africa about six years ago to support his wife and four children, his aunt said Monday.
"He was here to support his family and make sure his kids had a life," Sulekha Ismail said of her nephew, Hussein
Haji-ege Osman, 25. "He was trying to bring her (Osman's wife, Daqa) here. But you have to have enough money and 
enough things to bring them here."
Osman died along with OHP Trooper William Lloyd McClendon, 37, of Mounds, in the afternoon crash about six miles 
northeast of Claremore on the Will Rogers Turnpike.
Funeral services for Osman were held Friday in Columbus, Ohio, where Ismail, Osman's mother and other relatives live, 
Ismail said in a telephone interview. A preliminary accident report listed Osman as being from Kansas City, Mo., 
the address, according to Ismail, that was listed on his driver's license.
Osman tried to make annual trips back to Nairobi, Kenya, to visit his family, including sons 
ages 7, 6 and 4 and a 3-month-old daughter, his aunt said.
"He wanted to have a daughter, and he got one that he never did see," she said.
Ismail described her nephew as a soccer fan who went out of his way to help others.
"A lot of people cannot believe that he died," Ismail said. "He was a lovely person."
McClendon, who was driving a 2006 Dodge Charger, had his emergency lights and sirens activated when he 
tried to make a U-turn from an outside lane and collided with the 2002 Peterbilt tractor-trailer driven by Osman, 
who was behind McClendon in the same lane, OHP spokeswoman Kera Philippi said.
A concrete median wall with gaps every 1 1/2 to 2 miles separates the four-lane highway, she said.
Osman's truck veered into the left lane, and the vehicles collided, said Philippi, who said the speed 
of the vehicles and the distance between them could be included in a full investigative crash report that hasn't been released.
An inspection of Osman's Peterbilt showed some mechanical defects with the braking system, which were a 
"contributing factor" to the crash, she said.
Emergency vehicles can legally make U-turns, Philippi said. But "Rules of the Road" statutes do not 
"relieve the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle from the duty to drive with due regard for 
the safety of all persons," nor do they "protect the driver from the consequences of reckless disregard 
for the safety of others," records show.
Oklahoma Department of Public Safety officials told the Osman family that both vehicles were headed the same direction 
when "the officer did a U-turn from the freeway," Ismail said.
"He (McClendon) wasn't paying attention, so he just made the U-turn while the truck was there," Ismail said. 
Osman was "close" to the Charger when the wreck occurred, she said.
She added that the trucker's family hasn't been told of any mechanical defects with the truck's braking system.
"When you do a U-turn, I can't hold the brakes even if I'm driving a small car," Ismail said. "If I am on the road 
and you do a U-turn, I'm still going to hit you no matter if I have my brakes or not."
Osman, who reportedly was heading to Arizona, had left from Columbus, Ohio, on the morning of Sept. 29, she said. 

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Trooper's lights activated, OHP says
By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
10/5/2006 (Tulsa World)

Both vehicles were initially in the outside lane when McClendon attempted to make a U-turn.
CLAREMORE -- An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper had emergency lights and sirens activated when he tried to 
make a U-turn from an outside lane and collided with a tractor-trailer Sunday on the Will Rogers Turnpike 
near Claremore, killing him and the truck driver, an OHP spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Trooper William Lloyd McClendon, 37, of Mounds and Hussein Haji-ege Osman, 25, of Kansas City, Mo., died in 
the early afternoon crash that occurred in the eastbound lanes near mile marker 260, OHP Trooper Kera Philippi said.
Both McClendon, driving a 2006 Dodge Charger, and Osman, in a 2002 Peterbilt, were in the outside lane of eastbound 
Interstate 44, with McClendon some distance in front of Osman, she said.
With the inside lane clear of traffic and emergency lights activated on the front, top and rear of his patrol car, 
McClendon attempted to turn around through an opening in a concrete median wall that separates the four-lane highway, Philippi said.
"They have to turn their lights and emergency equipment on to make the cut in the wall so that traffic behind can 
take the precautions," she said.
"For an unknown reason," she said, Osman's truck swerved into the left lane, which McClendon had entered, and the vehicles collided.
Philippi had no estimates on the speed of the vehicles or the distance between them, elements that could be included 
in a full investigative crash report that is scheduled to be completed in about a week, she said.
Nothing in Oklahoma statutes "prevents an emergency vehicle from cutting that wall," she said. "He had the legal 
right to do it. He had the inside lane available. But they are still going back to looking at all the other factors."
The crash occurred in a construction zone, where a reduced speed limit of 55 mph had been posted on Sept. 26, 
Philippi said. The speed limit on the Will Rogers Turnpike normally is 75 mph.
More than 40 witnesses reportedly have been interviewed about the accident, for which no official cause has been released.
Inspections of both vehicles revealed some mechanical defects with the braking system on Osman's Peterbilt, she said.
 Although she did not say whether that affected his ability to stop, Philippi reported that those defects were a contributing factor.
"You can have many contributing factors and not have it be the cause of the accident," she said.
Attempts to reach members of the Osman family this week have been unsuccessful.
Funeral services for McClendon, an eight-year veteran of the OHP, are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday in Marietta, 
with a graveside ceremony to follow about six hours later at Green Hill Memorial Gardens in Sapulpa.
Philippi said she doesn't know why McClendon tried to make the turn at that precise time but added that the trooper 
had been asked to assist on a call that ultimately was canceled.
Because the median wall openings are structured at an angle, troopers find it necessary to make such U-turns 
from the outside lane, she said.
Philippi estimated that the gaps in the concrete barrier are placed every 1 1/2 to 2 miles on the interstate. 
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Trooper knew of the risks, relatives say
By RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
10/3/2006

William L. McClendon embraced the risks involved with being an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper, relatives said Monday.
"He loved being a trooper," said Drumright's Shirley McClendon, a sister-in-law. "He was always talking about what 
he was doing, always recruiting. I've probably seen him in plain clothes a couple of times.
"I always told him he should never drive faster than his angel could fly. But he always said that if he was going to go, 
he wanted to go in his car."
An eight-year member of the OHP, William McClendon, 37, of Mounds was killed Sunday when his 2006 Dodge Charger 
cruiser collided with a tractor-trailer rig on the Will Rogers Turnpike about six miles northeast of Claremore.
Oklahoma Department of Public Safety investigators still are trying to determine the cause of the double-fatality 
crash, which happened at 1:21 p.m. near mile marker 260 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 44.
The driver of the truck, Hussein Haji-ege Osman, 25, of Kansas City, Mo., died of massive internal injuries 
after being ejected roughly six feet from the tractor-trailer, a 2002 Peterbilt, an OHP report states.
It could take a couple of days for investigators to reconstruct the accident scene and release a probable
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cause, OHP spokeswoman Kera Philippi said. The agency has sought the help of motorists who may have witnessed the crash.
Philippi declined to comment on a Tulsa television station report that claimed McClendon had attempted a U-turn just before the crash.
Anyone who saw the crash or stopped to assist is urged to call the patrol at 866-OHP-TIPS or Troop B headquarters at (918) 627-0440.
There is a gap in the retention wall dividing the eastbound and westbound lanes -- one of many designed to be 
used by emergency vehicles to turn around -- at the accident site.
McClendon was a member of Troop XE, assigned to patrol the Creek Turnpike, Philippi said. He also had a full-time 
job with the Broken Arrow branch of Moody's Jewelry, where he was an assistant manager.
"He worked a lot," Shirley said of her brother-in-law, who has 17- and 13-year-old sons and a 10-year-old daughter. 
"He wanted to make sure his family didn't do without."
Jason Dobson went on police calls with McClendon when Dobson was an officer with the Drumright Police Department 
from 2000-05, Dobson said.
He met McClendon's niece, Niki McClendon-Dobson, and married her two years ago, purchasing the wedding ring from William McClendon.
"He was just an awesome guy," Jason Dobson said. "I respected him so much.
"He was very fair to everybody, but he was very strict. He was a trooper's trooper."
Herby Heiney III sold gems alongside McClendon at the jewelry store.
"He used to say working here was work to him and working the Highway Patrol was his passion and what was easy 
and what was fun," Heiney said.
"He was one of top salespeople in our store. A lot of people in their side jobs do them kind of halfheartedly. 
He did Moody's with a passion and just like it was a part of him. He was very motivating." 

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I-44 Collision: Two Dead: Accident kills trooper
By CLIFTON ADCOCK World Staff Writer
10/2/2006

Truck driver also dies; eastbound lanes are closed for hours
CLAREMORE -- An Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper and a truck driver were killed Sunday after the trooper's 2006 Dodge Charger 
patrol car and a tractor-trailer rig collided on the Will Rogers Turnpike northeast of Claremore.
Trooper William L. McClendon, 37, died at the scene. The 25-year-old Columbus, Ohio, truck driver, whose name was not released 
Sunday night, was taken by helicopter St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, where he was pronounced dead.
The crash occurred at 1:21 p.m. near mile marker 260 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 44, or about six miles northeast 
of Claremore, said OHP spokeswoman Kera Philippi.
Details of the crash were not available Sunday night, and investigators were still trying to determine the accident's cause, she said.
A preliminary report indicated that the truck driver died of massive internal injuries after being thrown approximately 
six feet from the tractor-trailer, a 2002 Peterbilt, during the crash.
Eastbound traffic on the turnpike was shut down for nearly seven hours and reduced to one lane westbound.
Shortly after 8 p.m., the eastbound inside lane was reopened, Philippi said. The other
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eastbound lane was expected to remain closed until at least midnight.
At the scene, the tractor-trailer rig, loaded with bottled drinks, lay on its side, blocking both eastbound lanes. 
Skid marks began in the left lane, veered to the left toward a concrete wall, then careened into the right lane, 
ending at the overturned truck.
Pickup trucks towing trailers, recreational vehicles, tractor-trailer rigs and almost any vehicle that could not 
turn around on the interstate were lined up for nearly two miles in the eastbound lanes. Many of the vehicles' 
drivers congregated, waiting for the highway to reopen.
McClendon, who lived in Mounds, was a graduate of the 50th Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy in 1998, Philippi said. 
He had worked for the patrol for eight years.
McClendon leaves behind a wife and three children, ages 17, 13 and 10, she said.
"We're a very tight-knit family," Philippi said of the trooper's death.
"It really hits home. We deal with fatalities every day, but it really hits home."
McClendon was a member of Troop XE, assigned to patrol the Creek Turnpike, Philippi said.
Shortly before the accident, McClendon was responding to a call for assistance, Philippi said, 
but the call had been canceled when the accident occurred.
In 1993, McClendon, then a police officer, was appointed as acting chief of the Mounds Police Department.
In 2000, McClendon received awards for leading his troop in making arrests for driving under the influence, 
with a total of 94. He also was honored for issuing almost 450 citations for seat-belt violations, and giving 
numerous safety education presentations, according to the OHP Web site.
Philippi asked that anyone who saw the crash or stopped to assist to call the patrol at 1-866-OHP-TIPS or Troop 
B headquarters at (918) 627-0440.
That Associated Press contributed to this story.
Clifton Adcock 5
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Traffic victims
Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers who have died in traffic accidents in the line of duty since 1978:
    * Nov. 28, 2002:
      Trooper Christopher Van Krevelen died after his patrol car struck a guardrail on a highway overpass in Enid while 
	  responding to an accident.
    * Aug. 31, 2000:
      Trooper Matthew Scott Evans died in a crash along with Oklahoma City police officer Jeff Rominger during a 
	  car chase on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City.
    * April 11, 1990:
      Trooper Duane L. Grundy, struck by a car during a traffic stop near the Craig-Ottawa county line.
    * Jan. 15, 1990:
      Trooper Randy J. Littlefield, struck by a car while assisting a motorist in Delaware County.
    * Sept. 2, 1984:
      Lake Patrol Trooper Mark Harris, hit by a car during a traffic stop near Norman.
    * Aug. 23, 1980:
      Trooper Edward Elliott, killed while investigating a traffic accident near Lawton.
    * July 13, 1978:
      Trooper Kenny Lee Osborn, killed by a tractor-trailer rig while investigating an abandoned vehicle 
	  on the Turner Turnpike in Creek County.
	  
	  
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