An 18-year-old Florence man died this past Friday in a crash on Highway 20 east of Toledo, Oregon State Police reported.
The single-vehicle crash occurred on the morning of Oct. 11 in Lincoln County about 7 miles east of Newport.
According to the preliminary investigation released by OSP, 18-year-old Jacob J. Bartlett, of Florence, was driving east on Highway 20 in a Nissan Titan and attempted to turn onto Northeast Arcadia Drive “at a high rate of speed.” The vehicle left the roadway, rolled several times and came to rest on its roof, OSP said.
The state police were dispatched to the scene at 10:47 a.m.
Benito Kirk Esquivel Whitney, who was a passenger in the Nissan, was declared deceased at the scene. Bartlett suffered critical injuries and was transported via Life Flight to Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis.
The highway was impacted for approximately one hour during the on-scene investigation. The cause of the crash remains under investigation with speed being considered a primary factor, OSP reported.
Assisting at the scene were the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Toledo Police Department and Toledo Fire and Rescue.