‘Pulled under by those back tires’: Mother of 7 killed in QuikTrip parking lot during argument with boyfriend, police say

An ordinary summer afternoon turned into a devastating tragedy in Collinsville, Oklahoma, leaving seven children without a mother. On Friday, July 3, 2025, an intense argument between 36-year-old Amber Rene Lee and her ex-boyfriend, Tyler Kendrick, escalated into a fatal incident in a busy QuikTrip convenience store parking lot. What began as a routine exchange of personal belongings ended with Lee being pulled under the heavy rear wheels of a dually pickup truck, suffering catastrophic injuries that ultimately cost her her life.

The incident has shaken the tight-knit Oklahoma community, drawing sharp focus on the volatile nature of domestic disputes and the devastating ripple effects left in their wake. Law enforcement officials, led by the Collinsville Police Department, have since launched a thorough investigation, culminating in the arrest of Kendrick on serious felony charges.

The Escalation of a Volatile Confrontation

According to Collinsville Police Chief Matt Burke, the tragic chain of events was set into motion by a standard modern-day separation ritual: the division of shared property. Lee and Kendrick had been in a long-term dating relationship but had recently split. On the day of the incident, the former couple was in the process of exchanging their remaining personal belongings to officially sever ties.

Earlier that afternoon, a close friend of Lee had accompanied her to assist in returning some of Kendrick’s items to him. Following the initial handoff, the friend drove Lee back to the Collinsville QuikTrip location, where Lee had previously left her own vehicle parked. However, instead of finding a clear path to go home, Lee discovered Kendrick waiting for her at the gas station.

Witnesses and police reports indicate that an argument immediately ignited between the two in the parking lot. The disagreement quickly intensified, moving outward into the open driving lanes of the property. Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Lee’s friend stepped in, physically attempting to intervene and de-escalate the altercation. Rather than defusing the tension, the intervention prompted Kendrick to abruptly terminate the encounter. He climbed into his vehicle—a massive, heavy-duty dually pickup truck characterized by its widened rear axle and twin pairs of back tires—and attempted to flee the scene.

A Fatal Departure

As Kendrick shifted the heavy truck into gear and accelerated, the situation turned fatal. Investigators believe that Lee was positioned dangerously close to the side of the accelerating truck. In a sudden, chaotic sequence of movements, she was caught by the vehicle’s momentum.

“We think she got hit and was pulled under by those back tires,” Chief Burke stated during a media briefing detailing the mechanics of the collision. The wide, prominent stance of a dually truck’s rear wheels presents a significant blind spot and a crushing hazard, particularly when a driver accelerates rapidly during a high-stress confrontation.

The heavy tires ran directly over Lee, inflicting severe trauma. Emergency medical personnel rushed to the QuikTrip parking lot following frantic 911 calls from witnesses. On arrival, medics discovered that Lee had suffered catastrophic blood loss. While a definitive medical examiner’s report was still pending in the immediate aftermath, first responders suspected that the immense weight of the dually tires had severed her femoral artery—a major blood vessel in the thigh where rapid blood loss can prove fatal within minutes.

Paramedics worked desperately to stabilize Lee at the scene before rushing her to a nearby hospital. Despite the exhaustive efforts of trauma surgeons and medical staff, her injuries were too severe to overcome, and she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The Manhunt and Arrest

Immediately after running over Lee, Kendrick did not stop to render aid or check on her condition. Instead, he sped out of the QuikTrip parking lot, leaving her bleeding on the pavement. The Collinsville Police Department quickly mobilized a localized manhunt, utilizing a combination of modern law enforcement technology to track the fleeing suspect.

Detectives utilized the city’s network of traffic and flock cameras to trace the unique profile of the dually pickup truck as it moved away from the scene of the crime. To pinpoint his exact location without alerting him, the department deployed a police drone into the surrounding area. The aerial surveillance successfully spotted Kendrick’s vehicle, allowing ground units to close in and conduct a high-risk traffic stop without further incident.

Kendrick was taken into custody and transported to the Tulsa County Jail. He faces heavy criminal charges, including first-degree manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. While the charges reflect the severity of the outcome, police noted that current evidence suggests the act may not have been a premeditated murder.

“I don’t think the suspect intended to necessarily harm her, but we do believe his negligent actions led to her death,” Chief Burke clarified. Under Oklahoma law, manslaughter charges are frequently applied in instances where a person’s reckless, negligent, or unlawful behavior directly causes a death, even if the driver did not explicitly set out to kill the victim.

A Family Fractured

Beyond the legal developments and the mechanics of the crime scene lies a profound human tragedy. Amber Rene Lee was the devoted mother of seven children. Her sudden, violent death has effectively shattered a large family, leaving her children to navigate the world without their primary caregiver, protector, and emotional anchor.

Family members, friends, and local community advocates have expressed profound grief and anger over the avoidable nature of the incident. In the days following the tragedy, community members visited the QuikTrip parking lot to leave makeshift memorials, remembering Lee as a vibrant woman whose life revolved entirely around providing for her large household.

Advocates for domestic violence awareness have also pointed to this case as a textbook example of how the period immediately following a breakup is often the most dangerous timeframe for a victim. Property exchanges, final conversations, and unexpected encounters at public venues frequently act as flashpoints for severe physical violence, as the separating partner attempts to assert control or flees recklessly during emotional highs.

Legal Next Steps

As Kendrick remains held in the Tulsa County Jail, prosecutors with the district attorney’s office are reviewing the comprehensive evidence compiled by the Collinsville Police Department. This evidence includes high-definition surveillance footage captured by QuikTrip’s extensive security camera network, statements from the friend who witnessed the entire encounter, and spatial measurements taken by accident reconstruction experts at the scene.

The criminal justice process will meticulously examine Kendrick’s actions in those critical seconds: his awareness of Lee’s proximity to the dually wheels, his rate of acceleration, and his conscious decision to leave the parking lot while she lay critically injured. Leaving the scene of a fatal accident carries a severe prison sentence in Oklahoma, independent of the manslaughter charge, reflecting the law’s strict mandate that drivers must stop and render aid whenever a collision occurs.

For the seven children left behind, no legal outcome can truly mend the void left by the loss of their mother. The Collinsville community has begun rallying around the family, organizing local support networks to assist with immediate financial needs, funeral costs, and long-term psychological support for the children. Meanwhile, the busy QuikTrip parking lot has returned to its normal operations, bearing no outward signs of the sudden, devastating violence that unfolded near its fuel pumps.