Soldier from Texas killed in Hwy. 30 crash

(Update: OSP correction; soldier, convoy were with Army, not National Guard)

CLATSKANIE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A U.S. Army soldier from Texas was killed Sunday evening in a crash on U.S. Highway 30 while a military convoy was stopped to address a technical issue, Oregon State Police reported.

The crash was reported around 6:25 p.m. Sunday near milepost 60 in Columbia County, troopers said. (The soldier and convoy originally were reported to be with the National Guard, but OSP corrected that info Wednesday.)

A preliminary investigation indicated an Army convoy was heading west on the highway and had pulled over on the westbound shoulder “to address an unknown mechanical issue,” OSP said in a news release.

A Humvee-style vehicle associated with the convoy but heading east stopped in the passing lane, and two soldiers got out to help the convoy, troopers said.

Soldier Gonzalo Martinez III, 29, of Cleveland, Texas, was struck by an eastbound Chevy pickup driven by a 72-year-old Clatskanie man who also was traveling in the left lane, OSP said. The pickup then crashed into the stopped Humvee.

Gonzalez and the pickup driver were taken to St. John’s Hospital in Longview, Washington.

Troopers said Martinez was pronounced dead at the hospital, where the pickup driver remained in stable condition.

The crash and on-scene investigation closed the highway for about six hours. OSP said the cause of the crash was under investigation.