TULSA, Okla. — An arrest has been made in the deadly hit and run collision that killed three area people in May.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says Charles Davis “Davey” Strong, Jr., 46, of Tulsa, Okla., was arrested Monday morning in the deadly May 9 collision that claimed the lives Amy Blagg, 44, of Caney, and her son Kyler Blagg, age 15, also of Caney. Alfred Hobbs, 70, of South Coffeyville, Okla., died several weeks later from injuries sustained in that wreck, which occurred on U.S. 169 highway near Delaware, Okla. A second passenger in the Blagg vehicle was Amy’s daughter, Tara, who survived the fiery collision but sustained critical injuries.

Strong is charged with three counts of murder in the second degree.

Troopers say Strong was driving a 1955 Chevy Bel Air at the time of the collision.  Strong was allegedly attempting to pass the Hobbs vehicle when it forced another vehicle driven by Kyler Blagg to collide into the Hobbs vehicle. Strong then allegedly sped away from the scene of the deadly collision.

He is being held on $500,000 bond in the Nowata County Jail. Rick Esser of Washington County will be prosecuting the case.

“It is the State’s position that driving under the influence of intoxicants with a prior conviction for the same constitutes a felony,” said Esser. “To cause the deaths of three people while committing a felony is murder in the second degree.”

Esser pointed out that each person charged with a crime is entitle to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

“I look forward to the opportunity of presenting this case to a jury of Nowata County citizens,” said Esser.

Monday’s arrest of Charles Strong, Jr., comes on the heels of two federal lawsuits filed against Strong and two other defendants by families of the deceased victims.

Brent Blagg, husband to Amy Blagg and father to Kyler and Tara Blagg, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, on Oct. 26, in which he seeks $75,000 in damages from three defendants: Charles Strong Jr., Brent Alan Radke and Jerry Line. A similar $75,000 federal lawsuit against the three men was also filed by Anna Marie Hobbs, wife of Alfred Hobbs, last week in U.S. District Court in Tulsa.

The complaints filed by Blagg and Hobbs give more details to the events that led to the deaths and injuries of family members on the night of May 9. According to the complaints filed by Blagg and Hobbs, Strong and Radke were traveling southbound on U.S. 169 highway in the 1955 Chevy Bel Air owned by Jerry Line, who court documents list as being a resident of Coweta, Okla. Line was not in the vehicle driven by Strong and Radke.

The Line vehicle driven by Strong and Radke was attempting to pass the Hobbs vehicle in a no-passing zone and without sufficient clearance. In the northbound lane of U.S. 169 highway was the Blagg vehicle, which was driven by Kyler Blagg. The Blagg vehicle attempt to swerve to avoid hitting the Line vehicle but collided with the southbound Hobbs vehicle. According to the court complaint, Strong and Radke fled the scene of the fatal collision.

Prior to the collision, Radke, Strong and Line were drinking alcohol together in Cherryvale. Line had knowledge of the intoxicated state of both Strong and Radke but allowed their travel in Line’s automobile nonethless, each complaints state.

The complaints also reveal that the lights in the Line vehicle were not all in working condition, which is a violation of Oklahoma law.

Blagg is represented in the federal lawsuit by Tulsa attorney Julia D. Allen while Hobbs is being represented by Brian T. Aspan, also a Tulsa attorney.