BIXBY, Oklahoma — A father who fled the scene of a rollover crash that killed his teenage daughter — while his wife and two other children were still trapped inside the vehicle — has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Elliott Lincoln Binney, 43, learned his fate on Monday in a Tulsa courtroom.
The case, which drew widespread attention across Oklahoma, ended with a sentence that divided even the victim’s own family.
What Happened on That January Night
The crash occurred on Jan. 11, 2024, near East 171st Street South in Bixby.
Officers with the Bixby Police Department arrived to find a single-vehicle rollover. A teenage girl — 16-year-old Shelby Binney — had been ejected from the car.
She later died from her injuries.
Shelby’s mother and two siblings were still inside the vehicle when first responders arrived. They were transported to a hospital for treatment.
Elliott Binney was not there.
He Admitted to Drinking — Then Ran
Witnesses told police Binney had been traveling at high speed on a rain-slicked road, crossing into a no-passing zone moments before losing control.
Investigators found an open bottle of vodka at the scene.
Binney later admitted to police that he had taken a “gulp” of alcohol just before the crash.
Despite that, Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler told the judge there was “no provable evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that he was driving while impaired.”
“What was provable was his reckless driving, the death of his daughter, the injuries to his wife and children, and his leaving the scene,” Kunzweiler said.
After the crash, Binney fled on foot before first responders arrived. He retrieved another vehicle from a nearby business and drove away.
He was tracked down and arrested in Checotah — roughly 50 miles from where his daughter died.
The Charges and the Plea
Binney pleaded guilty in April to four charges:
- First-degree manslaughter
- Child neglect
- Leaving the scene of a fatal accident
- Transporting an open container
The prosecution recommended between two and five years in prison. The judge sided with the upper end of that range.
His Wife Stood by Him in Court
In a deeply unusual turn, Brittany Binney — Elliott’s wife and Shelby’s mother — spoke in court against the prison sentence.
She blamed weather conditions, not her husband’s driving, for the crash.
“My husband is not a violent or reckless person by any means. He was not intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol or any substance,” she told the judge.
She said losing their daughter was already punishment enough and expressed concern about her other children losing their father to incarceration.
“They have already suffered the unimaginable loss of their sister,” she said. “If their father is removed from their lives through a lengthy incarceration they will experience another profound loss.”
The Prosecutor’s Response
Kunzweiler acknowledged the family’s pain but held firm.
“Sometimes criminal cases are like that — where a victim may prefer one outcome, and I have to take a position inconsistent with the victim’s desires,” he told the judge. “That is what makes this job tough, but it is a job I have been doing for over 36 years.”
He added: “You can’t just do those kinds of things to another human being, even if it’s your own child.”
The judge agreed — and sentenced Binney to five years behind bars.
What do you think about the sentence Elliott Binney received? Was five years enough, or should the punishment have been more severe? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
