Amity woman killed in Highway 18 crash
An Amity woman died at the Willamette Valley Medical Center of injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash Tuesday morning at the intersection of Highway 18 and Cruickshank Road.
The Oregon State Police identified her as Vera Lavaun James, 90.
OSP gave this account of the 10:30 a.m. crash:
Ashley Schulze, 30, of Salem, driving a Dodge Durango, was stopped on Cruickshank, waiting to turn westbound onto Highway 18. She was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
Linda Wilson, 68, of Amity, was operating a Chevrolet Tahoe eastbound on Highway 18. Her passengers were James and Lavina Lee, 65, of McMinnville.
Schulze pulled onto the highway and into the path of Wilson's vehicle.
James, Wilson and Lee were all transported by McMinnville Fire Department ambulance to the hospital.
Schulze was cited for failure to obey a traffic control device.
Comments
Chris
I hate that intersection! It's a nightmare trying to track and determine when it's clear to turn. I know they improved it from what it used to be, but it needs something more.
tagup
So does the next intersection to the East......LaFayette Hwy & 18 is a crap shoot to cross....
I guess the county commissioners are too busy to look into it...:(
Sponge
tagup, it’s a bit of a cheap shot to call out the county commissioners over the problems with a state highway. Solutions to those problems are typically very expensive and time consuming. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be addressed, but the commissioners’ only tool is to try to bring pressure on the state to find a solution. This usually starts with lower level discussions leading to higher level planning, funding, and engineering attention. Perhaps you have insider information about whether, or not, the commissioners are “too busy to look into it...”, but I will reserve judgment on that until more is known.
myopinion
I don't understand why there are so many more accidents there, than there are at 18 and Ash, your chances of getting hit are cut in half at the Cruikshank intersection, if you are turning left towards Mac, since there is a divider for traffic going that direction.
E.J. Farrar
Accidents there occur when drivers at the Cruickshank Stop Sign see an eastward car in the Highway 18 ‘right turn’ lane beginning the turn onto Cruickshank, and think it’s safe for them now to enter the Highway. The Cruickshank Stop Sign driver fails to realize that the turning car may be blocking the view of another vehicle traveling in the adjacent ‘no-turn’ lane: The driver pulls out - directly into the path of the hidden vehicle. The answer is to wait until you have a clear view of both lanes.
anon.
it would cost tax dollars to improve the intersection, but the money spent would undoubtedly be offset by the savings in human life.
I am never surprised to see broken glass and tire marks at either of these intersections, the death toll rises at a predictable rate. When will it be enough?
Hibb
Speed and a lack of patience are major contributing factors.