On a dark Oklahoma City street, a late-night sled ride ended with a young mother lying in the roadway and two people from her own group jailed on murder charges. The basic facts are not in dispute, yet whether this was a crime or a terrible accident is already contested.
A Nighttime Outing Turns Fatal
According to reporting by Law&Crime, 23-year-old James Kirk and 22-year-old Angel Walzier are being held in the Oklahoma County jail. Jail records cited by the outlet show that each is charged with second-degree murder and driving under the influence in connection with the death of 30-year-old Makayla Mitchell in northwest Oklahoma City.
Police told local outlets that the incident happened late Sunday near the intersection of Northwest 81st Street and North Walker Avenue in Oklahoma City, an area officers described as dimly lit. The Oklahoma City Police Department confirmed to Fox affiliate KOKH and CBS affiliate KWTV that Mitchell was pronounced dead at the scene.
SLEDDING fatality: OKC PD say two people face 2nd degree murder & DUI charges after a tow rope snapped, pulling Makayla Mitchell on a sled behind a vehicle late Sunday. Mitchell was hit & killed by a 2nd vehicle that was following. Both drivers appeared intoxicated.@kfor pic.twitter.com/SdYzlHBr5w
— Tara Blume (@tcblume) January 27, 2026
How Police Say the Crash Happened
Investigators say the group had been sledding using a vehicle and a rope on North Walker Avenue. According to police accounts reported by KOKH and KWTV, Mitchell was seated on a sled tied by a rope to a vehicle driven by Walzier. That vehicle was heading south on North Walker, towing the sled.
At some point, officers say, the rope broke. The sled then slowed and came to a stop in the middle of the road. A second vehicle, driven by Kirk and traveling behind Walzier, then struck Mitchell, according to authorities’ description of the crash sequence reported by Law&Crime.
Police noted that the stretch of street lacked streetlights, which contributed to low visibility at the time. Officers also responded around 11 p.m., a time when natural light would have been minimal. Those environmental factors are not in dispute in the available reporting.
From Traffic Death to Murder Allegations
The most serious charges in the case involve second-degree murder. Under Oklahoma law, second-degree murder can apply when a person causes a death by engaging in an imminently dangerous act that shows a “depraved mind” in disregard of human life, without premeditation. The definition appears in the state’s homicide statutes published through the Oklahoma State Courts Network, which describe second-degree murder as distinct from intentional, planned killing under first-degree statutes, yet still more serious than manslaughter-level offenses, according to Oklahoma statutes.
In addition to the murder and DUI counts reported for both defendants, Kirk faces further allegations. Law&Crime, citing Oklahoma County jail records, reports that he is charged with child endangerment and causing a fatal crash without a valid driver’s license. Those additional counts suggest that investigators believe a child was present in circumstances that prosecutors consider unsafe and that Kirk did not have a valid license when he was allegedly driving behind Walzier’s vehicle.
No detailed probable cause affidavit or charging document has been made available in the public reporting cited here, so the exact legal theory prosecutors will advance has not yet been fully explained in open court. It is not yet clear whether the state will proceed under a “depraved mind” theory, a DUI-based theory of second-degree murder, or another statutory route allowed under Oklahoma law.
Impairment Claims and the Evidence Police Describe
What appears to have transformed this case from a fatal crash into a homicide file is the allegation of impairment. According to police statements summarized by KOKH and KWTV, officers at the scene believed both drivers showed signs of intoxication.
Investigators requested that a drug recognition officer evaluate each driver. That officer reported observing indications of impairment, according to the accounts provided to local media and relayed by Law&Crime. Officers then obtained blood samples from Walzier and Kirk. Police have not publicly detailed, in the coverage reviewed for this story, what those blood tests showed or which specific substances they believe may have been involved.
Under Oklahoma law, proving DUI can involve showing a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit or demonstrating that alcohol, drugs, or a combination appreciably impaired a driver. The precise DUI statute charged in this case has not been specified in the available reporting, nor have prosecutors commented publicly on any test results.
Grief, Disagreement, and a Question of Intent
Mitchell’s death leaves behind a young child. A family friend told KWTV that Mitchell was known as a welcoming host, a skilled cook, and a devoted parent to her daughter, who is not yet 2 years old. In the friend’s account, Mitchell had been focused on planning the little girl’s upcoming birthday.
That same friend has publicly questioned the severity of the charges. In an interview with KWTV, he said, “It wasn’t intentional. It was just all a mistake. A tragic mistake.” He also argued that Kirk and Walzier, who were described as part of the same sledding group as Mitchell, should not be facing homicide counts. “It shouldn’t be murder,” he said. “It could have happened to anybody.”
Those comments highlight an early divide between at least some people close to the case and the approach taken by law enforcement and prosecutors. Police have described conduct severe enough to justify second-degree murder and DUI filings. A person speaking with the victim’s family has described a group of friends involved in risky behavior that went terribly wrong, but, in his view, did not rise to the level of murder.
As with any criminal case, Kirk and Walzier are presumed innocent unless and until the state proves the charges beyond a reasonable doubt in court. At this stage, the public record is limited primarily to brief police summaries provided to local media and the jail booking information reviewed by reporters. Defense attorneys for the two have not yet been quoted in coverage by Law&Crime, KOKH, or KWTV.
What Remains Unclear
Several key facts remain unresolved in public reporting. Authorities have not yet described the precise speeds of either vehicle at the time the rope snapped, nor have they outlined any sledding rules or precautions the group may have discussed before heading onto the street. The distance between Walzier’s and Kirk’s vehicles at the moment the sled detached, and the time Kirk had to react, also have not been detailed in the records summarized for the public so far.
Those specifics are likely to matter if this case proceeds to trial. Prosecutors will have to connect the alleged impairment and the decision to tow a sled down an unlit city street to the legal standard for second-degree murder. Defense attorneys, when they speak, may focus on whether the death was a foreseeable result of criminal conduct or a terrible accident in unusually dark conditions among people who all chose to participate.
For now, what is firmly documented is narrow. A 30-year-old mother is dead. Two members of her sledding group sit in jail on murder and DUI counts. Somewhere between a friend’s description of a “tragic mistake” and the state’s decision to file a homicide case lies a legal line that a future jury may be asked to draw.
