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66 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, March 15, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend February 3, 2005 Driver injured in truck crash By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune ROGUE RIVER — Icy roads and speed were blamed for a wreck that left a local man in critical condition and his pickup truck in the river Wednesday. Preston E. Lea, 19, of the 800 block of West Evans Creek Road, was unconscious when a passing motorist stopped and fished him out of the Rogue River at about 9:15 a.m. The motorist’s 11- year-old son saw the white GMC Canyon go off Rogue River Highway near Savage Rapids Dam, said Oregon State Police Lt. Tanya Henderson. The rescuer, who lives near the scene of the wreck, did not want his name released, she added. "If they wouldn’t have stopped, I don’t know when we would have found (the accident)," Henderson said, adding that a passer-by would have to look over the side of the bank to see the pickup. Lea’s body apparently broke through the truck’s driver-side window, and the crash tossed him into the river, Henderson said. He likely was not wearing a seat belt, the lieutenant added. The pickup’s passenger, 18-year-old Deborah A. Hill, of Grants Pass, was seat-belted but able to pull herself from the truck after it landed upside-down in the river, Henderson said. She was taken to Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass, where she was treated for a broken collar bone and released, Henderson said. Advertisement Hill told troopers that Lea was speeding toward Grants Pass through a section of highway posted with a 40 mph speed limit. Hitting an icy curve, the pickup ran off the road just where the guard rail ended. The vehicle struck a rocky mound of earth and flew about 150 feet through the air before landing in the water, Henderson said. Lea had been pulled to the river bank by the time emergency medical crews arrived, Henderson said. He was transported to Rogue Valley Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition. Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, Henderson said. Troopers had no estimate of the pickup’s speed at the time it left the road, she said. The accident closed the northbound lane of Rogue River Highway for about 2½ hours. OSP and the Josephine County Sheriff’s Department responded via two boats on the river and confirmed that no fuel had leaked, Henderson said. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress Advertisement s