5 killed in Oregon after trees fell on several cars in extreme weather
Five people were killed Tuesday in Oregon after severe weather caused trees to fall onto vehicles on several highways, state police said.
The first crash occurred near milepost 15.5 on Highway 26 at 11:39 a.m. local time in Clatsop County, Oregon, about two hours from Multnomah County, where Portland is located.
An initial investigation revealed that severe weather caused a “large diameter tree” to fall directly onto a passing silver Ford F-150, police said.
The driver, Justin Nolasco Pedraza, 19, and his passenger, Bonifacio Olvera Nolasco, 41, and a 4-year-old girl were critically injured during the collision and pronounced dead by emergency personnel, police said.
Hours later, Oregon State Police responded to an incident on Interstate 84 near milepost 40 in Multnomah County in which a black Dodge Ram towing a U-Haul hit a 43-year-old man, aged one, by a falling tree. , police said.
The passenger, Paula Chamu Sánchez, 20, “died from the impact of the tree,” police said, and the driver was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Another crash happened on Highway 26 near mile marker 64 in Wasco County, about two hours from Multnomah County.
A preliminary investigation indicated that “due to winter weather conditions including snow and high winds, a large tree fell onto the vehicle” of an eastbound Peterbilt commercial motor vehicle driven by 53-year-old James Darren Lida, police said.
Lida was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
