Cross-country drive to a funeral turns deadly
UMATILLA, Ore. -- A passenger in a car on a cross-country drive from Minnesota to Salem, Ore., to attend a funeral died in a car crash less than 4 hours from his destination, according to Oregon State Police.
The driver had already been cited for speeding in Montana, Idaho and Washington while en route to the funeral before he lost control while passing interstate traffic in the center median on Interstate 82 in eastern Oregon, according to police.
Anton Yevgenyevich Karpeyev, 23, of Portland, Ore., faces charges of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Criminally Negligent Homicide and Reckless Driving.
State police think Karpeyev was eastbound on I-82 when he drove a 2005 Dodge Caravan into the center median shoulder to pass traffic in both eastbound lanes. Investigators believe he lost control of of the van in some gravel, over-corrected and veered across both eastbound lanes.
The van overturned several times, ejecting the passenger, David Allen Ferguson, 23, of Forest Grove, Ore.
Ferguson was taken to Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston where he died from his injuries. He was not using safety restraints, police said.
Karpeyev suffered minor injuries in the crash. After being released from the hospital, police arrested him and booked him into the local jail.
State police believe the two were en route from Minnesota, where they had been working, to the Salem area for a funeral. Troopers learned Karpeyev was cited along the route in Montana, Idaho and Washington for speed violations.
