Editor’s note: This report is based on information submitted by the Oregon State Police. All crashes with fatalities may not be included. The status of incidents might change after further investigation.
SATURDAY, JULY 26
• 3:11 p.m. — Troopers responded to a single-vehicle crash on Highway 213 near Oregon City that took the life of Bryce Montplaisir Ainslie, 28, of West Linn. OSP’s preliminary investigation indicated that Ainslie was driving a Ford F-250 pickup south on Highway 213 when for unknown reasons, he crashed into a guardrail and went down an embankment. Ainslie was declared deceased at the scene.
MONDAY, JULY 28
• 7:47 a.m. — Troopers responded to a two-vehicle crash on Highway 226 near Albany that took the lives of Jarri Lynn Saul, 55, of Lebanon, and a 15-year-old girl. OSP’s preliminary investigation indicated that Saul was driving east on Highway 226 in a Buick Envoy and while turning north onto Old Bridge Drive, entered the path of a westbound semi-truck operated by a 49-year-old Aumsville man. The vehicles collided nearly head-on. Saul was pronounced deceased at the scene. The 15-year-old girl, a Japanese foreign-exchange student who was in the front passenger seat, was also pronounced deceased at the scene. Another 15-year-old Japanese foreign-exchange student who was seated in the rear passenger seat, reportedly sustained serious injuries and was transported via helicopter to a hospital. The truck driver was not injured.
TUESDAY, JULY 29
• 8 a.m. — Troopers responded to a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 5 about 6 miles south of Eugene and 3 miles north of Creswell that took the life of Kenneth Nicholas Thomas, 61, of Springfield. OSP’s preliminary investigation indicated that a 56-year-old Coos Bay man was driving a Dodge Caravan south on I-5 when he attempted to turn from the slow lane into the emergency vehicle turnaround lane. During the turn, the Caravan struck the side of a Dodge Charger driven by a 59-year-old Springfield man. The Charger attempted to avoid the crash by swerving toward the median. However, the impact from the Caravan occurred and sent the Charger into the northbound travel lanes on I-5 where it went beneath a Kenworth dump truck towing a loaded trailer, that vehicle operated by a 44-year-old Coos Bay man. Thomas, a passenger in the Charger, was declared deceased at the scene. The Charger’s driver was transported via ambulance to a hospital reportedly with serious injuries. The drivers of the Caravan and the dump truck were not injured. OSP also reported that during the initial crash, a secondary collision also occurred on the southbound side of I-5 involving three vehicles. No injuries were reported from the second crash.
Traffic stop near Albany leads to drug seizure
Oregon State Police seized more than 122 pounds of illegal drugs during a traffic stop Wednesday morning on Interstate 5 near Albany.
A state trooper pulled over a southbound vehicle at 9:47 a.m. for multiple traffic violations in Linn County, the law enforcement agency reported. An OSP drug detection K-9 helped locate approximately 112 pounds of methamphetamine, 5.6 pounds of cocaine and 4.4 pounds of fentanyl concealed in the vehicle.
The driver, Jesus Compos Roman, 29, of Everett, Washington, and passenger Eduar Freites Mosquera, 27, of Mill Creek, Washington, were arrested on charges of possession and delivery of methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon, reported that the suspected drug traffickers face federal charges and made their first appearance in court on Friday. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, both suspects are nationals from other countries unlawfully residing in the United States — Roman from Mexico and Mosquera from Bolivia.