Two seriously hurt in Hwy. 199 van crash

Two men, one from Redmond, were seriously injured early Saturday morning when their van left Hwy. 199 at Hogue Road in Josephine County, went into a ditch and overturned, Oregon State Police reported Sunday.

Around 1:35 a.m., a 1993 Pontiac van driven by Rell Baty, 30, of Selma, was turning off Highway 199 onto Hogue Road when it traveled into a ditch and rolled, troopers said.

Passenger Stranger Davis, 27, of Redmond, was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown from the van, they said.

Emergency responders from Illinois Valley Fire Department arrived on scene and found the two men outside of the van, which had caught fire.

Baty was flown by Mercy Flights helicopter to Rogue Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. He is in critical condition, troopers said Sunday.

Davis was taken by ambulance to Three Rivers Community Hospital with serious injuries, they said.

OSP was assisted at the scene by Illinois Valley Fire Department, AMR ambulance and Mercy Flights. Trooper Ryan Neuenschwander is the lead investigator.

Meanwhile, OSP reports that a tire malfunction may be the cause of another single-vehicle rollover crash that seriously injured three people Sunday afternoon along a remote stretch of Highway 138E northwest of Diamond Lake in the Umpqua National Forest.

According to Sgt. Matt Bowersox, around 4:12 p.m., a 2003 Honda sport utility vehicle driven by Lynne Wright, from Chula Vista, California, was westbound on Highway 138E near milepost 66 when she said the vehicle jerked to the right, causing her to lose control.

According to a witness in the oncoming lane, the SUVe rolled several times before coming to rest off the highway.

Wright and passenger Alison Wright, 38, also from Chula Vista, were extricated from the vehicle by emergency responders.

A 10-year-old passenger, Emma Wright, was thrown from the SUV in the crash, troopers said.

All three were transported by air ambulances to Rogue Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. Safety restraint use information was not yet available.

Trooper Brian Jewell from the Roseburg Area Command office is the lead investigator. A tire malfunction is being investigated as a possible contributing factor, he said.

OSP was assisted at the scene by Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement, Chemult Fire Department, Douglas County Fire District #2 and the Glide Rural Fire Protection District.