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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 22, 2005 Alcohol may have been a factor in fatal crash By ROBERT PLAIN for the Mail Tribune Alcohol might have been a factor in a Tuesday-night wreck on Mount Ashland that killed an 11-year-old Medford boy, according to a Jackson County sheriff’s sergeant. Sheriff’s Sgt. Dace Cochran said witnesses say Dametri Martin’s father, driver Jason Wayne Martin, had been drinking whiskey and tequila at a campfire party before the accident. A blood- alcohol test Wednesday, many hours after the late-night accident, showed no alcohol in his system. Martin was asked to leave the party for being too rowdy, family friend Mike Standard told Cochran Thursday morning. A fight erupted, and Standard said Martin hit him in the head with a stick. Martin, 33, left with Kathleen Burbeula, his fianc�e, and Dametri in a Chevy Blazer. Standard described Martin as in an "angry" state of mind when he left. "I’m terribly sorry this happened," Standard said. "He was in no shape to drive." Advertisement Soon after they left, the Blazer plunged 225 feet off Forest Service Road 20 at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. Burbeula and Dametri were ejected from the vehicle. Sheriff Mike Winters said the Blazer appeared to drive straight off the road with no sign of skid marks. "It looks like they flat-out missed the corner," Winters said. "We haven’t done the speed calculations yet." Cochran said the Chevy likely hit two trees on the way down the hillside. Police said the boy, who was not wearing a seat belt, was most likely killed instantly when he was thrown from the Blazer. Cochran said the two adults likely didn’t move during the night, though they communicated with each other. When the sun came up, they found Dametri’s body about 30 feet behind the SUV, according to Cochran. Burbeula, 32, suffered a broken arm and leg. Martin suffered bruised ribs and a punctured lung. At sunrise, Martin hiked from the rugged crash site 3.5 miles north of Mount Ashland Ski Lodge to Grouse Gap, where he found a camper who let him use a cell phone to call for help at 7:15 a.m., police said. Martin and Burbeula were airlifted by a Mercy Flights helicopter to Rogue Valley Medical Center. Burbeula, known as "Kat," is a bartender at the Wild Goose Cafe and Bar in Ashland. RVMC officials described Burbeula’s condition as "fair." They said Martin is still in "serious" condition. A friend of the family, Trish Bedford, of Ashland, said Dametri had moved from Oklahoma about six months ago. He’d lived with his mother for about the last eight years, and came to Oregon to be with his father. "He was a real good kid," she said, describing him as quiet and having some learning challenges but being quite a normal young boy. "He was a great child. He was into all the things that little boys are into." Robert Plain can be reached at 482-3456 extension 3040 or [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 Free Music Downloads Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers dvd-r helzberg diamonds Distance Education Diamonds Online Poker Computer Security Home Equity Loans Slippers Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Canadian Pharmacy Website Design & Marketing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Mortgage Calculator Free Home-Loan Referrals Online Casino News Air Purifiers Advertisement s