On Saturday, August 3, 2019 just prior to 6:50 pm, an Oregon State Police Trooper was in route to intercept a vehicle described as driving aggressively and poorly on US-20 westbound towards Newport. While in route police were notified the suspect vehicle of the described driving complaint had caused a crash with three other eastbound vehicles. Preliminary investigation revealed that a Ford Explorer SUV, was driving westbound on Hwy-20 when the vehicle went into the eastbound lane of travel.
A Subaru Legacy was being driven eastbound and was side struck by the Ford Explorer. The next eastbound vehicle that was hit was a Chevrolet C15. The next eastbound vehicle was a International Tow Truck owned by AA Rowley’s Towing. The driver and only occupant of the Ford Explorer was transported by air ambulance to Good Samaritan’s Hospital in Corvallis with serious injuries.
The driver and only occupants of the Chevrolet C15 and International Tow Truck were transported by ground ambulance to the Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport with minor injuries. Hwy-20 at this location was closed for just over 6 hours following the crash. The Oregon State Police were provided on-scene assistance by Pacific West Ambulance, Toledo Fire Department, Oregon Department of Transportation Incident Response/Maintenance, Lincoln County Sheriff's Office - Oregon, and Toledo Police and Public Safety Department - Oregon.
The driver of the Ford Explorer, 29-year old Edward Connin II of Salem, was cited and released while at the hospital for DUII – Alcohol/Controlled Substance, Reckless Driving, Reckless Endangering, Criminal Mischief 2, Assault 3, and Assault 4. Additionally, he was cited for not having a license to drive, not having insurance, and failing to wear his seat belt. The driver’s BAC was shown to be above the legal limit while being cared for at the hospital.
Information provided by OSP