Highway crash claims two lives

Two people died Monday afternoon, December 26, on Highway 20 about 2.5 miles east of the Santiam Summit when their vehicle lost control and crossed sideways into the opposite lane and was struck by a pickup.

Oregon State Police stated that the victims’ names will not be released until next of kin have been notified.

On December 26, at approximately 4 p.m., a 1989 BMW two-door with two occupants was westbound in one of two lanes travelling up the grade on Highway 20 near milepost 82.5 when it lost control on the rain/slush mix surface and slid across into the eastbound lane.

The driver’s side door area of the BMW was struck by the front of a 1999 Dodge Dakota pickup driven by Joel A. Hall, age 28, from Molalla. The impact pushed the BMW across the highway to where it came to rest on the north shoulder, and the pickup came to rest on the south shoulder.

The two occupants of the BMW, a male and female, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Hall and his wife, Traci Lee Hall, age 31, were not injured. They were using safety restraints and the pickup’s airbags deployed.

Oregon State Police troopers from the Bend Area Command office are continuing the investigation. Black Butte Ranch Police and ODOT assisted at the scene. Highway 20 was open to only one lane for about 90 minutes.