Triple Fatal Traffic Crash - Highway 97 south of Grass Valley

OSP troopers from The Dalles Area Command office are continuing the investigation.

Photograph Source: Oregon State Police

(GRASS VALLEY, Ore.) - Three people died Tuesday morning shortly after midnight when the pickup they were in crossed the centerline of Highway 97 about ten miles south of Grass Valley and collided head-on with a commercial truck.

Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers are continuing the investigation.

The victims from Mattawa, Washington are identified as: * Driver JOSE LUIS SANDOVAL GUERRERO, age 23 * Right front passenger AUDELINO SANDOVAL-BARAJAS, age 43 * Left rear passenger PABLO ALCALA MARMOLEJO, age 52 According to OSP Sergeant Pat Shortt, on May 18, 2010 at approximately 12:39 a.m. a black 2001 Toyota Tacoma pickup occupied by the three men, was northbound on Highway 97 near milepost 38 when it crossed the centerline in the path of a southbound 2003 Freightliner truck pulling a semi-trailer.

Despite the attempt by the commercial truck's driver, 58-year old Benjamin V. Quiroz of Anaheim, California, to avoid the oncoming pickup by moving toward the southbound highway shoulder, both vehicles collided head-on. The three male occupants in the Toyota pickup were pronounced deceased at the scene.

Quiroz and his passenger, 56-year-old Jose Luis Ortoz Moreno of Salinas, California received minor injuries. Both were transported by ambulance to Mid-Columbia Medical Center in The Dalles for treatment. OSP troopers from The Dalles Area Command office are continuing the investigation. Safety restraint use information is not available. Sherman County Sheriff's Office, ODOT and Grass Valley Fire Department assisted at the scene. The highway was closed for about 3 hours before one lane was opened. All lanes were reopened about 4:30 a.m.

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Photograph: Oregon State Police