Bride-to-Be Killed in Oklahoma Wrong-Way DUI Crash Weeks Before Wedding; Fiancé Survives with Life-Altering Injuries

Katelyn Callahan, 23, and Tristen Cherry, 24, were returning home from the Calf Fry Festival when they were hit by a drunk driver.

A 23-year-old bride-to-be, Katelyn Callahan, was killed in a devastating wrong-way collision in Oklahoma just weeks before her wedding day. The crash occurred on May 2 around 2:30 a.m. on Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City, when an alleged drunk driver traveling in the wrong direction struck the vehicle she was driving.

Callahan and her fiancé, 24-year-old Tristen Cherry, were returning from the Calf Fry Festival in Stillwater along with two teenagers when the crash happened. Cherry, who was seated in the back, recalled the final seconds before impact.

23-year-old Katelyn Callahan died, and her fiancé Tristen Cherry was critically injured in a wrong-way drunk-driving crash on I-44 in Oklahoma City, weeks before their May 31 wedding.

“I kind of sat up in my seat, and I see headlights,” Cherry said. “I said, ‘Katelyn, I love you.’ And we hit.”

Callahan was pronounced dead at the scene. The couple, together for three years, were scheduled to marry on May 31 in Bristow. Cherry spent nearly a month in a coma due to the severity of his injuries, which included nearly 60 facial fractures, a lacerated kidney, lost teeth, and a wired jaw. He underwent multiple surgeries and has since been discharged.

“It’s taken me some time,” Cherry said. “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.”

Callahan was pronounced dead at the tragic scene on May 2

The accused driver, 29-year-old Sergio Ibarra, was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter and three counts of driving under the influence. Ibarra and a 36-year-old passenger were hospitalized along with the two teenage passengers from Callahan’s vehicle.

Cherry spent what would have been his wedding day in the hospital, surrounded by friends, family, groomsmen, and bridesmaids who came together to honor Callahan’s memory.

The crash left Cherry severely injured and in a coma for nearly a month

“I saw Katelyn in her wedding dress in pictures,” Cherry shared. “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’s wedding website described their bond as “the greatest love story this town has ever seen.” Although they attended different high schools just ten minutes apart, they became inseparable after Cherry invited Callahan to his fraternity’s formal event. He described their union as “God’s plan.”

“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,” their tribute read.

The couple, who had been together for three years, were set to wed on May 31. Cherry learned his nursing student fiancé died days after waking up from his coma