Roy Deaver’s death leads to reported manslaughter charge over Tulsa chase

Hart, 47, is now reported to have been charged with manslaughter in connection with Deaver’s death. The allegation concerns what happened before the impact: whether Hart’s actions drove Deaver into the truck’s path. It is a criminal accusation, not a finding of responsibility, and Hart remains presumed innocent.⁠2⁠5

The reported charge marks a change from an anticipated prosecution. News On 6’s article displayed October 27 described Hart as expected to face manslaughter. By October 28, FOX23, KTUL and KRMG reporting described a charge and referenced court records. HeyDay News has not independently verified the charging instrument, leaving the precise offense, counts and next court proceeding unconfirmed.⁠1⁠4⁠5⁠6

Officers responded near East 8th Street and Sheridan Road at about 3:32 p.m. on October 23, 2026, according to the police account reported by News On 6. They found Deaver in the roadway, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. That clock time describes the reported police response; it does not establish the exact moment the truck struck him.⁠1

Investigators traced the encounter back to Johnny’s Auto Sales. They said Deaver confronted Hart and two other people who had parked outside the dealership after hours. Deaver’s living arrangement matters here: this was not simply a business property he happened to be passing, but the place where he had been staying. The available account does not establish either man’s motive.⁠1

Witnesses told police they saw someone chasing Deaver and throwing objects at him before he entered the street. Police identified Hart as the person who chased him away from the dealership property and into the roadway, where the box truck struck him. The reporting does not identify the objects or establish that all three people at the dealership took part in a pursuit.⁠1

Those distinctions matter. The witness account places a pursuit immediately before the collision; the police allegation identifies an alleged pursuer. Neither is a trial finding, and neither alone settles the legal question of responsibility for Deaver’s death.

Police said Hart returned to his car and left after the collision. Detectives located him the following day, October 24. According to News On 6, Hart told investigators he had gone to the dealership to sell stolen motor-oil containers to the owner and had witnessed the collision.⁠1

That was Hart’s reported explanation for being there, not an independently established account of a completed sale. It also was not an admission that he chased Deaver. Nothing in that account establishes that the dealership owner knowingly purchased stolen goods. Hart’s statement that he saw the collision and the police allegation that his pursuit caused Deaver to flee are separate claims.⁠1

Hart’s initial arrest was on existing warrants, News On 6 reported, and he was later booked into Rogers County Jail. That arrest must be kept separate from the subsequently reported manslaughter charge. The offenses underlying the warrants, his bond and his present custody or release status have not been established through independently retrieved records.⁠1

The truck driver remained at the scene and helped investigators, according to the police scene account carried in local reporting. Police also blocked Sheridan traffic during the initial investigation. The driver’s cooperation does not by itself establish a charging decision or formal exoneration, just as the scene restriction does not indicate a continuing road closure.⁠3⁠35

The central question is therefore narrower than who was driving the vehicle that struck Deaver. Police allege that another person’s pursuit put him in danger. The reported manslaughter action advances that allegation into a criminal case, but the actual filing is needed to show precisely what prosecutors allege and the legal basis they intend to use. The available reporting does not establish the degree of manslaughter, statutory subsection, number of counts, case number or scheduled court appearance.⁠4⁠5⁠6