Calif. man killed in Highway 95 head-on crash
A California man was killed and several others were injured Saturday afternoon when a 19-year-old from Las Vegas tried to pass a semi-truck in a no-passing zone on Highway 95 in Malheur County and collided head-on with an SUV, Oregon State Police reported.
OSP troopers and emergency personnel responded around 2:45 p.m. to the reported head-on crash near milepost 97, OSP Captain Tim Fox said.
An investigation determined that Jaila Aguilera-Pinder, 19, of Las Vegas, was driving a white 2005 Ford Focus on the highway and was trying to pass a commercial motor vehicle in a no-passing zone when it struck an oncoming 2014 Ford Escape driven by Victor Dunkelberger, 33, of Rocklin, California, Fox said.
The two vehicles collided head-on at highway speeds, Fox said, and Dunkelberger sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene.
Two passengers in the Escape were taken to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, one by air ambulance. Aguilera Pinder and her passenger both were flown to the Boise hospital as well.
Fox said OSP crash reconstructionists are continuing their investigation.
OSP was assisted by the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, Life Flight, Jordan Valley Ambulance, ODOT and the Humboldt County, Nevada, Sheriff’s Office.
