Deadliest holiday weekend on Ore. roads in decades
Preliminary information indicates 12 people died in four separate fatal traffic crashes on Oregon roads during the New Year’s holiday reporting period, Oregon State Police reported Wednesday.
The 12 fatalities, including nine deaths in Sunday’s bus crash, is the highest number reported since 1970, when ODOT began to gather these statistics. Last year during the same holiday period, six people died in four separate fatal traffic crashes.
The following is a recap of this year’s known fatal traffic crashes during the holiday reporting period:
* On December 30, 2012, a 69-year old man from Post Falls, Idaho died after the vehicle he was a passenger in crashed on an icy stretch of Interstate 84 east of Stanfield. The pickup’s driver survived the crash. Oregon State Police (OSP) is the lead investigating agency.
* On December 30, 2012, nine people died and 38 others were injured when a charter bus lost control on an icy stretch of Interstate 84 east of Pendleton and rolled down a steep embankment. OSP is the lead investigating agency.
* On December 31, 2012, a 60-year old Cottage Grove-area woman died when she was struck by a vehicle as she stood at the end of her driveway. The involved vehicle and driver were later located. OSP is the lead investigating agency.
* On December 31, 2012, a 7-year old Clackamas boy died when the pickup he was a passenger in lost control on black ice along Interstate 84 west of Mosier and went off the freeway into the Columbia River. The boy’s father survived the crash. OSP is the lead investigating agency.
Participating in a national enforcement effort, OSP troopers reported 78 DUII arrests during the holiday period, up from 65 DUII arrests reported last year and nearly matching 79 DUII arrests two years ago.
OSP offices reporting two or more DUII arrests during the period were:
* Portland Area Command Office – 12 DUII arrests
* Springfield Area Command Office – 10 DUII arrests
* Salem Area Command Office – 8 DUII arrests
* Albany Area Command Office – 7 DUII arrests
* Bend Area Command Office – 6 DUII arrests
* Coos Bay Area Command Office – 5 DUII arrests
* Central Point Area Command Office – 5 DUII arrests
* Newport Area Command Office – 4 DUII arrests
* Klamath Falls Area Command Office – 3 DUII arrests
* Grants Pass Work Site – 3 DUII arrests
* North Plains Work Site – 3 DUII arrests
* Gold Beach Work Site – 2 DUII arrests
* John Day Work Site – 2 DUII arrests
* St. Helens Work Site – 2 DUII arrests
* Tillamook Work Site – 2 DUII arrests
* The Dalles Area Command Office – 2 DUII arrests
DUII arrests by OSP troopers were reported on the following days:
* Friday, December 28 – 3 DUII arrests
* Saturday, December 29 – 16 DUII arrests
* Sunday, December 30 – 15 DUII arrests
* Monday, December 31 – 13 DUII arrests
* Tuesday, January 1 – 31 DUII arrests
