Retired OHP trooper dies at 79

Hoyt Hughes, 79, of Indianola, died Sunday at his residence. On May 26, 1978, Hughes was among several troopers involved in a gunbattle with several escapees from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, known as the Caddo-Kenific Incident. OHP Lt. Pat Grimes and troopers Pappy Summers and Billy Young were shot and killed in the shootout, while Hughes was wounded. He survived the injuries, and continued to serve in the OHP until his retirement as a lieutenant/troop commander in 1987. "Lieutenant Hughes and the men that died and responded to Caddo-Kenefic in 1978 will always be remembered by the men and women of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol as the standard for courage" OHP Chief Kerry Pettingill said in a statement. "It is a sad day anytime we lose a member of the OHP family."