Josephine County, Oregon- A collision involving a passenger vehicle and a commercial truck claimed the life of an 85-year-old resident on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Oregon State Police (OSP). The incident occurred around 12:23 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 199 and Helms Road in Josephine County.
Preliminary investigations suggest the crash was triggered when a northbound Nissan Sentra, driven by 22-year-old Joshua Chaska Patrick of Abbotsford, British Columbia, failed to stop at a stop sign. The Nissan entered the highway, where it collided with a Kenworth dump truck also traveling northbound. The impact caused the truck, driven by Uwe Jens Stehnike of Grants Pass, to overturn.
Stehnike, who was operating the dump truck, was declared deceased at the scene. Patrick, the driver of the Nissan, fled on foot but was subsequently located and arrested nearby. He sustained injuries and was provided medical care at a local hospital before being taken into custody.
The collision impacted traffic on Highway 199 for approximately one hour as law enforcement conducted an on-scene investigation. OSP received support from the Rural Metro Fire Department, Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to manage the area and gather evidence.
The Oregon State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU), a team specializing in fatal and critical injury crash investigations, is leading the investigation. The CRU uses advanced techniques and technology, including small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), to document and analyze complex collision scenes across Oregon.
Source: OSP
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