Tragedy sparks questions: How safe is Hwy. 20?
Three members of a family from Sherwood died in a car crash on Highway 20 on Saturday. Now, many people are wondering how dangerous the site west of Santiam Pass is, and what can be done to make it safer.
Allen James of Portland was understandably shaken by the news that his niece, 27-year Tiffany Fefelov, her husband Fred and their 7-month old daughter, Mila, had died in the crash from his sister.
“She told me to sit down, and immediately you didn’t want to believe it because it just can’t be real,” James said Thursday.
Unfortunately it was real. Oregon State Police said Tiffany lost control of the car on a rainy highway; their car crossed the center line and collided with an SUV towing a travel trailer.
Now, James wants the Oregon Department of Transportation to improve safety measures on that stretch of the highway.
“We don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” James said.
James is asking ODOT to put a median barrier in place.
“There is a concern with median barriers,” ODOT Region 4 spokesman Peter Murphy said. “You might slip into one and then bounce out into traffic, or you could go get airborne. So it’s not as simple.”
ODOT decides if changes need to be made to a section of a road based on crash data.
“So we look at where we can spend our funds most effectively to achieve safety for the greater population,” Murphy said.
Those funds go to improving the most dangerous spots. The crash site on Highway 20 did not even make the list.
According to data from ODOT, since 2011, this was the first fatal accident between mileposts 79 and 81. However, there was a fatal accident half a mile away from this section earlier this year, and another one 6.5 miles away.
ODOT said it’s weighing all options.
For Allen James, it’s all about honoring the memory of the Fefelov family.
“It could happen to any of us, and how do we choose to live our life and allow ourselves to be a little bit more in the moment, and to feel and not be afraid to feel. I think that’s what I’ve learned from my niece on that day,” James said.
