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Medford man, 29, dies in car crash photo by Jim Craven Investigators look for clues at the scene of Friday morning's fatal wreck at the intersection of Stewart Avenue and Lozier Lane. Desert Storm vet was SOU student and father of 3 BY JIM DAVIS A Southern Oregon University student who was also a Desert Storm veteran was killed early Friday morning when he was thrown from his car during a two-vehicle wreck. John Roy Ashley, 29, of Medford, was ejected even though he apparently was wearing his seat belt, said Medford police Lt. Tim George. "Either there was seat belt failure or he was thrown out from under it," George said, noting the belt was still strapped into the seat. The driver of the second car, Gwendolyn Carol Morris, 43, of Medford, was treated and released at Rogue Valley Medical Center. The accident occurred just before 8:30 a.m. at Lozier Lane and Stewart Avenue in south Medford, George said. Ashley -- who has three children with his wife, Nicole -- was driving a green 1993 Ford Festiva south on Lozier Lane. Morris was driving a 1996 Nissan Maxima west on Stewart Lane and rammed the side of the Festiva, knocking the car into a ditch, George said. The accident was still being investigated Friday and no citations had been issued in the case. Clerks at the Valley Market -- which is at the corner -- said they heard the crash and ran outside to see the accident. They said other drivers had gathered around to help Ashley and Morris. "They need to get some damn street lights put up here," said Barbara Compher, a clerk. "This is a terrible corner to get in and out of." "This is like Grand Central Station," said Joyce Jenkins, another clerk, about the traffic along the road. Bob Capsey, who owns Bob Capsey Automotive Service just down the road from accident, said that he heard the wreck and looked down the road to where the cars collided. He said that he saw a large truck and a truck with a trailer parked side by side at the market, making it difficult to see around the corner onto Stewart Avenue from Lozier Lane. George said that police would look into whether the trucks obstructed the view, contributing to the accident. Ashley was a junior at SOU, where he made the dean's list last spring. He attended the 186 Gold Program, an officer's candidate school for the Oregon Army National Guard. "You couldn't find a better person, he was my most energetic, dependable candidate," said Sgt. Ernest Corey of the Oregon National Guard, who was Ashley's platoon leader. Corey had served for six years with the U.S. Navy and was a corpsmen for the Marines, basically a medic. He was involved in Desert Storm. Ashley was headed to a training session for the Gold Program when the accident occurred, Corey said. Ashley also worked as an obstetric technician for Providence Medford Medical Center during the evenings and part-time at Rogue Valley Medical Center. Corey said that Ashley would be missed. "He was going to make one of my best officers," Corey said. "He was a very fine human being." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA