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Fifth fatality of 2022 recorded on Hwy 199 By David Smigelski Updated: Aug 22, 2022 03:13 PM A A A man from Stockton, California, crashed through a guardrail on U.S. Highway 199 Aug. 15. The man, Richard Gardea, 52, died Monday at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center, police reported. [Photo courtesy of Illinois Valley Fire District] A driver who crashed his vehicle Aug. 15 on U.S. 199 in Josephine County has died, according to a news advisory from Oregon State Police. At about 1 p.m. Aug. 15, a southbound Chevrolet Silverado operated by Richard Gardea, 52, of Stockton, California, left the roadway near milepost 19, struck a guardrail and rolled several times. Gardea, who was ejected from the vehicle, was transported to Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center. Gardea died Monday as a result of his injuries, OSP said. At least four other fatal crashes have been reported on Highway 199, also known as Redwood Highway, so far this year. Johnny Porter, 45, from Cave Junction, was killed Aug.10 when a southbound Ford F-550 pickup crossed the center line near milepost 6 and struck Porter’s northbound Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Porter was ejected from the motorcycle and pronounced dead at the scene. On May 23, Jesse Kozechen, 29, of Brazil, swerved near Selma to avoid traffic that had slowed for a turning vehicle. He overcorrected and lost control of his Volkswagen Beetle, sliding into the southbound lane, where he collided head-on with a Ford Escape, OSP reported. Kozechen was pronounced dead at the scene. Gregory Williams, 48, of Grants Pass, was riding his Janus motorcycle southbound on Highway 199 at about 12:45 p.m. April 24, when for unknown reasons he left the roadway outside Selma at mile marker 16 and crashed into a guardrail, according to OSP. Williams was ejected from the motorcycle and pronounced dead at the scene. Eddie Bartley, 72, of Grants Pass, was killed Jan. 24, and another driver, from Dallas, was rushed to a Medford hospital following a head-on crash on Redwood Highway near Wonder. The crash occurred at 12:48 p.m. near milepost 10 and the Elliott Creek Road intersection, according to a news release from Oregon State Police and Rural Metro Fire. In addition to the deaths recorded on the road this year, OSP reported that a bicyclist was severely injured in a hit-and-run crash on Redwood Highway July 17 or 18. OSP said the cyclist was struck at milepost 27, just south of Kerby, sometime between the late evening hours of July 17 and the early morning hours of July 18. The victim was discovered in a ditch with severe injuries and was transported to an area hospital. The driver of the suspect vehicle did not stop and continued traveling north on Highway 199. U.S. 199 is known as one of the most dangerous roads in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Transportation held an open house July 26 in Kerby to solicit community feedback on the Highway 199 Corridor Plan, an effort to make the highway safer. The plan covers the section of the road from the Applegate River near Selma to the California border. The full length of the road goes from Interstate 5 in Grants Pass to U.S. Highway 101 on the coast. ODOT data shows that 417 crashes were reported from 2014 to 2019 on the Oregon stretch of the highway covered by the corridor plan. Of those, 41 were fatal and severe-injury crashes. In 2021, OSP responded to 2,201 calls for service on Highway 199, responded to 345 reports of crashes and conducted 3,537 traffic stops. Reach Mail Tribune Editor-in-Chief David Smigelski at 541-776-4484 or [email protected].