Girl, 12, Dies in Rollover Crash | Oregon Car Accident Attorneys

Date: November 30, 2009
Location: Highway 97, near Shaniko, Oregon
Names: Araceli Torres-Lopez, Theodore Travis

A 12-year-old Umatilla girl was killed and her grandfather was seriously injured in a single-car rollover crash on Highway 97 south of Shaniko, Oregon, on November 30, 2009.

KNDO/KNDU reports that the crash occurred around 8 AM, as Theodore Travis, 56, of Prineville, was driving a Dodge truck southbound on the highway. The truck veered across the northbound lane and onto the shoulder of the road, where it rolled, landing on its roof.

Araceli Torres-Lopez, 12, was ejected from the truck and died at the scene. Oregon State Police troopers do not know why she was ejected, since she was wearing safety restraints.

Crews worked for 90 minutes to free Travis from the truck. He was taken to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend with serious injuries.

Torres-Lopez was a 7th-grader at Clara Brownell Middle School in Umatilla. The school district and Umatilla-Morrow Education Service District’s Crisis Flight Team are working with students to help them cope with the tragedy.

We send heartfelt prayers to the whole family. It’s sad to lose any life, but it always seems to hit us harder when it’s someone so young. Araceli had so much life ahead of her. And to Mr. Travis, we sincerely hope you recover fully and quickly, and please know you are in our thoughts as you and your family cope with all that’s happened.

 

Single-Car Crash Seriously Injures Driver, Passenger | Oregon Accident Lawyers

Date: October 30, 2009
Location: Blachly, Oregon
Names: Mary Gibney, Kevin C. Raymond, Jubal Johnson, Christina Flora

According to KATU.com, a single-car crash near Blachly, Oregon, injured four people from the Deadwood area, October 30, 2009. Blachly is located on Highway 36 northwest of Eugene.

Around 3 AM, Kevin C. Raymond, 33, was westbound on Highway 36 in a 1993 Subaru Legacy when he lost control of the car and hit a tree. Two passengers, Jubal Johnson, 30, and Christina Flora, 22, were ejected from the car and suffered minor injuries, but the front seat passenger, Mary Gibney, 33, was pinned inside the car and critically injured. Raymond, the driver, was also pinned, and was seriously injured.

Paramedics extricated Raymond and Gibney from the wreckage. Raymond and the three passengers were taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield.

Johnson was treated and released from the hospital, but was then arrested on an outstanding warrant from Linn County, and taken to Lane County Jail.

As of November 2, Raymond, Gibney, and Flora were still hospitalized.

According to The Register-Guard, investigators believe alcohol may have been a factor. It was unknown whether the car’s occupants wore safety restraints.

Lane Rural Fire/Rescue personnel and Oregon Department of Transportation assisted at the scene. Oregon State Police were continuing to investigate.

We send our best wishes to all involved for a speedy recovery, both physically and emotionally, from this sudden and devastating crash. We hope Raymond, Gibney, and Flora will be out of the hospital soon.

We are saddened whenever we hear that a crash might have involved an impaired driver. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are up to 36 deaths and 700 injuries every day in the U.S. due to motor vehicle crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver. The CDC reports that in 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. This comes to almost one-third of all U.S. traffic deaths. And in 2007, more than 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence – but this is less than 1% of people who admit to driving impaired each year. Male drivers and young people are especially likely to be involved.

It is important to understand what to do after you’ve been involved in a crash where alcohol is a factor. We hope you will never need this information, of course, but you may want to check out our fact sheet or this informative video. We encourage people to educate themselves on the law of drunk driving in Oregon. But when a drunk driver is involved, the law becomes very tricky, and you should contact an experienced Oregon injury attorney.

 

Man Sought After Hit-and-Run | Oregon Car Accident Lawyers

Date: November 29, 2009
Location: NW Greenwood & NW 8th, Redmond, Oregon
Names: Theodore “Teddy” Ernest Jokinen, Cody Stephen Stackhouse, Anthony A. Ortega, Melissa Jokinen

Oregon State Police have asked for the public’s help in finding Theodore “Teddy” Ernest Jokinen, 32, who fled after crashing a stolen car into a parked truck in Redmond, Oregon, on November 29, 2009. OSP troopers previously located two passengers who also left the scene, according to KOHD.com.

Officers found one of the passengers, Anthony A. Ortega, 25, hiding in the backyard of a nearby home. He was taken to Deschutes County Jail on three outstanding warrants.
Another passenger, Cody Stephen Stackhouse, 20, was discovered as he tried to hitchhike away from the scene. Stackhouse sustained a head injury, and was transported to St. Charles Redmond Medical Center.

A third passenger, Melissa Jokinen, 34, was found injured inside the car, and did not try to flee. She was detained at the scene, and later taken to the same hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

OSP Sergeant Eric Brown told KOHD.com that, around 2 PM, Senior Trooper Andy McCool spotted a black 1996 Honda careening down the road, ignoring stop signs and nearly hitting a car at an intersection. As the Honda turned south from NW Greenwood onto NW 8th, a witness saw the car crash into the side of a parked truck. The driver, Theodore Jokinen, Ortega and Stackhouse ran from the scene. Meanwhile, officers detained Melissa Jokinen.

Police discovered the Honda had stolen license plates, and later learned that the car was an unreported stolen vehicle. Before the crash, the car’s occupants had stopped for gas, and left without paying their $45 bill.

As of November 30, state police were continuing to investigate, assisted by Redmond Police Department and Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office. They requested anyone with information on Jokinen’s whereabouts to call 911 or OSP dispatch at 1-800-452-7888.

We would like to add our own appeal: If you know anything at all that might help the police, please contact them immediately. We believe finding Jokinen is a matter of public safety.

Hit-and-run is a serious violation of Oregon Vehicle Code 811.705. The hit-and-run driver must be held civilly and criminally responsible for his actions.