Madras woman dies of injuries in car-train crash

A 52-year-old Madras woman died and three children were injured after she drove into the path of a freight train north of Culver, possibly distracted by an earlier, nearby crash, Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies said Friday.

Patrol Sgt. Jason Erickson identified the woman who suffered fatal injuries in Thursday evening’s crash as Lourdes Perez.

Erickson said a 7-year-old boy, a family friend riding in the truck, remained hospitalized Friday in fair condition. Two 10-year-old girls were treated and released from St. Charles Madras and St. Charles Redmond, the sergeant added.

Deputies had been called out just after 5 p.m. Friday to a two-car non-injury crash in the area of state Highway 361 (Southwest Culver Highway) and Gem Lane, north of Culver, said Patrol Capt. Marc Heckathorn.

A deputy arrived within a minute and found a car and a pickup had collided at the intersection, just east of the railroad tracks. Heckathorn said the deputy began investigating and identified a female driver possibly driving drunk and began conducting field sobriety tests on her.

Around 5:30 p.m., while the deputy was testing that driver, a pickup truck heading east on Gem Lane approached the railroad tracks and stopped, according to several witness accounts, the captain said.

Perez was able to see the crash ahead of her, “but failed to notice a BNSF freight train” on the tracks, heading north from Culver, Heckathorn said in a news release Thursday night.

She pulled out into the path of the train and was struck on the passenger side, causing the truck to spin and flip north of Gem Lane, landing in a ditch on the west side of the tracks.

The deputy stopped testing the possible DUII driver and rendered emergency care to those in the pickup until medics arrived from Jefferson County EMS and the Jefferson County Fire Department, Heckathorn said. A passing area farmer who witnessed the crash helped put out a fire in the truck, he added.

Perez and the boy were thrown from the pickup and were flown by AirLink and Life Flight helicopters to St. Charles Bend. The two girls were taken by ambulance to St. Charles Redmond and Madras, Heckathorn and Sheriff Jim Adkins said.

Once enough other personnel were on scene, the deputy finished sobriety testing of the driver in the first crash and arrested Natalia Al-Jamal, 34, of Portland on a DUII charge. She was taken to the county jail in Madras, where a breath sample was taken indicating her blood alcohol content was .21, more than twice the legal limit of .08, Heckathorn said.

Through witness interviews, he said, it appeared Perez may have been distracted by the crash partially blocking the road ahead of them when she stopped at the stop sign at the railroad tracks and failed to notice the oncoming train.

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas said the train was traveling from Bend to Madras with seven cars of mixed freight. Heckathorn said the train was going about 50 mph, and the railroad spokesman said the crew sounded its whistle and “put the train in emergency braking in an attempt to stop” before striking the pickup.

The line was reopened later Thursday night, Melonas said, adding that six to seven trains use the line daily. The roads also were cleared a few hours later.

The railroad crossing has signs, but no flashing lights or arms to block the intersection when a train is approaching, Heckathorn said.

BNSF staff responded to conduct an investigation, while Oregon State Police also assisted, to reconstruct the crash scene.