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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 4, 2015)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2015 LOCAL NEWS HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7 Occupant dies after wreck on former Highway 395 safety corridor Traffic volume down north of Hermiston, but number of crashes remains steady By SEAN HART Staff Writer A stretch of Highway 395 that was once a des- ignated safety corridor claimed another life last week. And another person remains in serious condi- tion after an Oct. 19 colli- sion north of Hermiston. Jacelyn Loyce Black, 36, Hermiston, died Oct. 25 in Richland. She was the passenger in a 2003 Honda Civic driven by Jami Lynne Masters, 52, Boardman, who remains in serious condition after being Àown by air ambulance to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland. Masters was a caregiver with the Eastern Oregon Support Services Brokerage who provided support to Black, who had Down syndrome. While traveling south on Highway 395, their vehicle collided with a 2010 Toyota Scion driven by Elizabeth Cervantes, 22, Hermiston, who attempted to turn left onto Baggett Lane, Ore- gon State Police Sgt. Seth Cooney said. Cervantes was also taken to a hospital by ambulance. Almost exactly one week later — at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 26 — it happened again. Sonia Mota-Sotelo was traveling south on the highway in a 2004 Ford Focus when Ash- ley Brooks, 27, La Grande, attempted to turn her 2001 Ford Focus onto Baggett Lane from the northbound turning lane, and the vehi- cles collided, Cooney said. Fortunately, Mota-Sotelo and Brooks were the only vehicle occupants, and neither was taken to a hos- pital. Cooney said Brooks was cited for driving while her license was suspended. But Jerrad Little, the OSP trooper investigating both wrecks, said he did not be- lieve impairment or speed contributed to either of the collisions. Cooney said this is not the ¿rst and second times concerns have been voiced about the highway north of Hermiston. “For as many businesses that are in there with a 55 mile per hour speed limit, there is a higher potential for crashes because you’ve got a lot more people com- ing in and out of traf¿c,´ he said. “It used to be a safety corridor, which is based in part on the total number of crashes. During the period it was a safety corridor, that number of crashes dropped, so it lost its safety corridor designation.´ The roughly four-mile stretch from Hermiston’s northern city limit near Theater Lane to Highway 730 was ¿rst designat- ed as a safety corridor in February 1997, according to Oregon Department of Transportation documents. Cooney said the designat- ed was lifted several years ago, but he was not sure ex- actly when. ODOT data from 1995- 2004 show seven people were killed in crashes on Highway 395 north of Hermiston. From 2005- 2014, two people died in the four-mile stretch north of the city and two people died in the eight-mile sec- tion to its south. The average traf¿c vol- ume actually decreased in the northern section, from 16,000 per day at Joy Lane in 1995 to 14,100 in 2005 and to 13,100 in 2014, even while traf¿c within the city increased. Despite the vol- ume Àuctuations, the total number of crashes for the northern section remained at about 215 for both de- cades, but crashes on the southern section decreased from 736 to 609. Tom Strandberg, an ODOT public affairs em- ployee in La Grande, said he believed the median barrier installed between Hermis- ton and Stan¿eld decreased the number of wrecks on the southern stretch. “We had a lot of crash- es,´ he said. “People were using the middle lane for passing instead of turning.´ There are far more busi- ness access points along the highway to the north of Hermiston than to the south, however, and about twice as much traf¿c. Cooney said these factors make the northern stretch more dangerous. “This is the world we live in,´ he said. “The more drivers we have on the road, the more opportunity we have for crashes.´ Cooney said he was not sure whether OSP has been responding to more wrecks lately, but Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services Chief Scott Stanton said the department responded to 18 wrecks between Aug. 1 and Oct. 27 last year and 38 in the same period this year. Although the actions will not prevent all wrecks, Cooney said drivers can and should take precautions to reduce the risk. “The number one thing is Must Àat pay attention,´ he said. “Watch traf¿c at a far- ther distance ahead of your- self, increase following dis- tance and slow down.´ STAFF PHOTO BY SEAN HART Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services personnel extricate Jacelyn Loyce Black, 36, Hermiston, from a silver Honda Civic involved in a wreck with a maroon Toyota Scion at the intersection of Highway 395 and Baggett Lane north of Hermiston Oct. 19. Black was transported to a hospital but died Oct. 25. The driver of the Civic, Jami Lynne Masters, 52, Boardman, remains in serious condition at Kadlec Regional Medical Center after being transported there by air ambulance. The driver of the Scion, Elizabeth Cervantes, 22, Hermiston, was transported by ground ambulance to Good Shepherd Medical Center. 50% MORE DATA than Verizon and AT&T FOR THE SAME PRICE. 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