One Dead After Late-Night Crash Near Monument Drive

NEAR MERLIN, Ore. (Mar. 25, 2026) — Authorities say a 50-year-old man died Tuesday night after a single-vehicle crash on Three Pines Road.

According to the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office, 9-1-1 dispatchers received a report of the crash at about 10:57 p.m. on March 24. The crash occurred on Three Pines Road near Monument Drive.

When deputies and emergency responders arrived, they found a single vehicle off the roadway. The driver, identified as Richard David Johnson, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Preliminary findings indicate the vehicle had been traveling toward Monument Drive when, for unknown reasons, it left the roadway, struck a fence and then collided with a large tree.

Authorities closed Three Pines Road for approximately two and a half hours while deputies investigated the crash and crews removed the vehicle.

Officials said Johnson’s next of kin has been notified. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.