Update (12-28-22, 10: 45 a.m.) – Another fatality is being attributed to a tree falling on a vehicle in Oregon during Tuesday’s storm.
According to Oregon State Police, 20-year-old Paula Chamu Sanchez of Baker City was a passenger in a vehicle that was hit by a falling tree on Interstate 84 near milepost 40 in Multnomah County. The driver of the vehicle was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital.
The freeway was closed for over two hours while the on-scene investigation was conducted.
Original story: OREGON, U.S.A. – Recent winter weather contributed to four fatalities in a pair of crashes in northwest Oregon.
Oregon State Police said on Tuesday morning, a winter storm caused a tree to fall directly onto a passing Ford pickup truck on Highway 26 in Clatsop County. The driver — 19-year-old Justin Nolasco Pedraza — and his passengers, 41-year-old Bonifacio Olvera Nolasco and a 4-year-old girl, all suffered fatal injuries during the collision and were found dead when first responders arrived at the scene.
In a separate incident on the same highway in Wasco County later that afternoon, a tree fell onto the cab of an eastbound Peterbilt commercial vehicle driven by 53-year-old James Darron Lyda. He did not survive.
During windy and wet weather, the Oregon Department of Transportation encourages drivers to slow down and stay alert to give themselves extra time to react to debris on the road.
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