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Six die on Oregon holiday weekend By Dani Dodge Several local fatal accidents during the New Year�s holiday contributed to the state�s highest rate of holiday traffic deaths in three years. Six people were killed in crashes on Oregon highways between 12:01 a.m. Dec. 29 and 11:59 p.m. Jan. 1, according to preliminary statistics released Tuesday by the Oregon State Police. In the same period in 1998, 12 people died, but in 1999 only one person was killed in a vehicle crash. Last year, there were no fatalities for the same period. Weekend highway fatalities New Year�s holiday fatalities 1:10 p.m. Dec. 29 : A 20-year-old Powell Butte man died in a single vehicle accident on Highway 26 east of Prineville. 2:52 p.m. Dec. 30 : A 50-year-old Sherwood man died in a single vehicle accident in on Brook Lake Road at Wheatland Road N.E. in Yamhill County. 4:14 p.m. Dec. 31 : A 37-year-old Sherwood man died in a single vehicle accident on Highway 170 near South Macksburg Road in Clackamas County. 9:40 p.m. Dec. 31 : A 19-year-old woman, who was five months pregnant, died when the driver of the car she was riding in lost control and hit a power pole on South Barnards Road near Molalla in Clackamas County. 11:14 a.m. Dec. 31 : A 27-year-old Klamath Falls woman died when the driver of the car she was riding in lost control on Highway 140 about five miles west of Fish Lake and drove head-on into a sports utility vehicle going the other way. 3:54 p.m. Jan. 1 : A 44-year-old Central Point man died when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving went over an embankment on Kane Creek Road in Central Point. Asked the reasons for the spate of fatalities, OSP Lt. Gregg Hastings said "It�s hard to know why. "Looking at all of these � they occurred on relatively remote sections of state highways or county roads," he said. "Five out of six were single vehicle. Usually that involves traveling too fast for conditions at the time and the vehicle lost control and either rolled over or struck an object." He concluded, though, that winter conditions may have been a factor in the number of deaths. "When we get in winter conditions, we have to deal with icy conditions and shady areas creating slick areas on roadways," Hastings said. "It�s definitely a reminder to people to be aware of these unanticipated problems when we deal with colder conditions." Two of the six fatal accidents occurred in the Rogue Valley area. On Monday afternoon, Michael Joseph Cluck, 44, of Central Point, died when his all-terrain vehicle went over the embankment on Kane Creek Road in Central Point. He was not wearing a helmet, Jackson County sheriff�s deputies reported. On Sunday, a 27-year old Klamath Falls woman was killed when the driver of the car she was riding in lost control about 5 miles west of Fish Lake on Highway 140 and struck a sports utility vehicle head-on. Trina Hernandez of Klamath Falls, was partially ejected from the car and died from her injuries. A passenger in the right front seat, she was wearing a seat belt. The driver, Meredith Lopez, 29, of Klamath Falls, was eastbound on Highway 140 coming out of a left-hand curve when she lost control of her four-door Chrysler on an icy section. The car slid into the westbound lane when it went head-on into a 2000 GMC Yukon. Lopez, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from of the car. Although she was listed in critical condition when she first was transported to Providence Medford Medical Center Sunday, her condition had been upgraded Wednesday to "fair," according to a nursing supervisor. Lopez� two daughters, ages 5 and 7, who were seated and restrained in the back of the car, only suffered minor injuries, troopers said. The family in the Yukon, driven by Frederick Dellarose, 45, of Salinas, Calif., were all wearing safety belts and were not injured. The family included Dellarose, his wife and three children. OSP troopers said the highway was dry when the Highway 140 crash occurred, except for the area of the curve that was shaded and icy. Including this year�s fatalities, 31 people have died in traffic crashes during the New Year�s holiday period since 1995, Hastings said. Troopers also kept statistics on drunken driving arrests for the holiday period. This year, 122 people were arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants during the holiday period. That was less than last year�s 151 arrests. Thirty-five of those arrests were in the southern region of the state, which includes everything from Douglas and Klamath counties to the California border. Of the 35 Southern Oregon arrests, 22 occurred on New Year�s Eve, Hastings said. "Generally, it is a quieter time for us, but they were extremely busy this year," Hastings said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.