A 61-year-old Alsea man died Nov. 12 in a crash on the Alsea-Deadwood Highway, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Kevin T. Weist was driving north on the highway on Saturday afternoon when for unknown reasons, he crashed into the side of a bridge that spans the Alsea River, BCSO Sgt. David Iverson said.

Weist, who was the lone occupant of the vehicle, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene, Iverson said.

The Benton County Crash Team is investigating the cause of the crash.

The sheriff’s office was dispatched to the scene at 3:45 p.m. The Alsea Fire Department, Corvallis Fire’s ambulance and Life Flight all responded. The Oregon Department of Transportation assisted as well to perform traffic control and to check the bridge for damage, Iverson said.

Weist was involved in the Alsea community over the years and was well known in Philomath as the operator of Weist Logging. He was a 1979 graduate of Alsea High School.

Iverson said it was the sixth time in the past month that the Benton County Crash Team has been called out to do an investigation — not all of those involved fatalities.

DeMoss-Durdan Funeral Home and Crematory in Corvallis is handling arrangements.

Brad Fuqua has covered the Philomath area since 2014 as the editor of the now-closed Philomath Express and currently as publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He has worked as a professional journalist since 1988 at daily and weekly newspapers in Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, Arizona, Montana and Oregon.