The Columbia Press
February 12, 2021
Curve: Problematic curve was site of dangerous collision
got hit, it could have hap-
pened to the house right
away with scrapes and
behind us.”
bruises, but the couple’s
She’d like to see some
emotional scars will take
boulders
or other barri-
longer to heal. They now
cades
put
up to protect
sleep on an air mattress
her
family
and
her home,
in the living room.
which
was
repaired
two
Police
Chief
Matt
weeks
ago.
Workman sent a letter
“I would hate for any-
last month to Oregon
body
to wreck and die,
Department of Trans-
but
they
literally almost
portation Manager Mark
took
our
lives away,”
Buffington, asking the
Courtesy Warrenton Police Department Spivey said of driver Wil-
state to make safety im- Northwest Warrenton Drive approaches a curve before it becomes Pacif-
liam Page-Lagerquist.
provements to the busy ic Drive. New signs warning of the curve and elk were posted recently.
The 21-year-old War-
thoroughfare. Northwest Below: A view from inside the Spiveys’ bedroom.
renton
man was injured
Warrenton Drive is part
in
the
Dec.
7 crash, when
of State Highway 104 and
crash history.”
he
was
ejected
from
the vehi-
all changes must be made
The agency gets plenty of
cle.
by ODOT.
requests similar to War-
A police report says
“It’s the first acci-
renton’s, anything from
Page-Lagerquist
was speed-
dent I can remember at
adding extra lighting to fix-
ing
when
he
failed
to ne-
that corner,” Workman
ing guardrails to adjusting
gotiate
the
curve,
traveled
said. “Does that mean it
speed limits.
several hundred feet before
doesn’t have potential for
“Maybe the speed limit
crashing into a berm, the
more?”
was determined or a guard
Spiveys’ fence and, finally,
Workman wants the
rail built a long time ago
state to move back its
and there have been chang-
sign lowering the speed
es, such as houses have gone
limit from 45 to 35 so
in, an area gets busier,”
that drivers have more
Buffington said. “We re-ex-
time to prepare for the
amine those spots.”
curve. ODOT workers
Changes are made in re-
were sent out to replace
sponse to requests about 25
signs that previously had
percent of the time, he said.
been knocked down or
Signs may help, but they’ll
removed, including one that review of the highway’s prob- do little to prevent accidents
lem spot to engineer Dorothy caused by intoxicated drivers,
warns of elk in the area.
homeowner Spivey admits.
But other changes will take Upton.
“You can have a sign, but if
“It’s really up to her to de-
time.
“The chief’s letter was pret- cide whether the speed can someone is intoxicated .22,
ty well written and explains it be changed,” Buffington said. they’re not going to pay at-
really well,” the ODOT’s Buff- “And generally, they base it tention to the sign,” she said.
ington said. He assigned a on all kinds of criteria such as “If it wasn’t our house that
Continued from Page 1
Hwy. 26 crash kills 3, seriously injures a fourth
Three people died and a
fourth person was seriously
injured Wednesday in a two-
car crash on Highway 26.
A man driving a Mercedes
station wagon was headed
west about 10 a.m. near the
Necanicum Highway when
he lost control and the vehi-
cle began sliding sideways
into the eastbound lanes,
according to Oregon State
Police. The vehicle struck an
oncoming Toyota Tacoma.
The station wagon driver,
Walter Smith, 21, of Pendle-
ton, and his two passengers,
Erick Fadness, 20, of Dec-
orah, Iowa, and a 16-year-old
girl from Portland, died at
the scene.
The Toyota’s driver, Natalie
Swauger, 30, of Seaside, was
seriously injured and taken
by air ambulance to a Port-
land hospital.
Speed was likely a contrib-
uting factor to the accident,
according to OSP.
Seaside Police Department
and Oregon Department of
Transportation assisted at
the scene.
5
landing upside down inside
the house.
He was taken by ambulance
to Columbia Memorial Hos-
pital and arrested on suspi-
cion of driving under the in-
fluence of intoxicants, three
counts of reckless driving
and driving without a license
or insurance.
An investigation of the case
is ongoing, Deputy District
Attorney Paul Charas said
Wednesday, and he’s waiting
for more information before a
decision is made on charging
Page-Lagerquist.
The city of Warrenton owns
the triangular-shaped piece
of land between the highway
and the Spiveys’ home.
The
City
Commission,
which discussed the safety
concerns Tuesday night, is
waiting for the report from
the state and may consid-
er installing barriers at the
curve.