A westbound Nissan Rogue driven by 65-years-old Mary Helen Dale of Florence, lost control in the oil slick and crashed into the Kenworth before moving off of the highway.
Lane County, OR – Christine Dorene Weathers ,59, of Florence was killed and Radiantly Jaime Gaines ,48, of Eugene hospitalized after a car crash on Highway 126 in Lane County Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Oregon State Police, the collision happened at around 3:15 p.m. October 22 on State Route 126 near milepost 19.
As per the report, a westbound Kenworth log truck, operated by Billy Lee Bales Coder ,50, of Myrtle Point, was passing through the Knowles Creek Tunnel when a catastrophic engine failure caused an oil spill approximately 200 yards long before the vehicle exited the tunnel and parked alongside the roadway.
A westbound Nissan Rogue driven by 65-years-old Mary Helen Dale of Florence, lost control in the oil slick and crashed into the Kenworth before moving off of the highway.
A westbound Toyota Prius driven by Gaines lost control in the oil slick, crossed into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with an eastbound Chevrolet HHR, operated by Weathers.
Weathers was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Gaines suffered serious injuries and was transported to a local medical center.
Coder and Dale suffered no injuries in the mishap.
The highway was impacted for approximately nine and half hours during the on-scene investigation. The crash remains under investigation.