DUII Driver causes head-on crash west of Corvallis
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- An intoxicated driver flipped over his pickup, landing in the middle of Highway 20 Saturday afternoon when a passing van crashed into the truck head-on, the Benton County Sheriff's Office said.
Leading up to the crash, 911 dispatchers received several calls that a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was driving erratically with a possible intoxicated driver.
The crash happened just west of Corvallis on Highway 20 when the pickup was driving eastbound. At around 4:45 p.m. the driver, Biet Nguyen of Portland, went off the right side of the road into the gravel shoulder, over-corrected left and flipped the pickup onto its roof.
The truck continued down Highway 20 and into the path of a westbound Econoline Van driven by Stephen Sever, 63 of Corvallis. Sever hit the truck head-on, colliding with the front driver's side of the Toyota Tacoma.
After the crash, the truck came to a stop back in the eastbound lane. The 69-year-old Nguyen had to be removed from the truck by Philomath Fire crews. He was taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis where he is being treated for serious injuries.
The van stopped in the westbound lane's ditch where it soon caught fire. Sever crawled out of the driver-side window before the engine fire spread to the cab of the van. The cab was completely burned by the time the Philomath Fire Department arrived on-scene to put it out.
Severs was also taken to Good Samaritan, treated for minor injuries and released.
Nguyen was issued citations for Assault, Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. He is listed in serious condition as of Sunday morning.
The crash closed down Highway 20 for nearly three hours while crews worked to clear the crash site.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. BCSO is continuing an investigation into the crash.
Benton County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who witnessed the crash or has any additional information to contact Sergeant David Peterson at 541-766-6820.
Drinking and driving is a decision that is capable of being made before you pick up that first drink, so every drunk driver that kills someone should be considered a premeditated murderer, and convicted so.
Â
lets face it - we all know drunk drivers never think they are out of control - they can handle it. They never regret doing it until they have hurt or killed someone - society puts up with it because too many people enjoy drinking and never believe they could be the problem. Alcohol companies are probably involved in the passing of the laws, they don't want people to stop buying alcohol. So what if a life or two is lost every couple hours somewhere? Do you really think that if the majority of society really wanted this problem to stop it would still be happening? Victims are the minority, so this is never going to stop. never.
Â
@Daki Thumbs down...
I hate people who drink and drive. Just as much as I hate people who are high on drugs. Stay off my roads and out of my house.
I think a driver under the influence of alcohol who causes a wreck that injures another should automatically face attempted manslaughter as a MINIMUM sentence. At this point in time, I think that the whole population knows that drinking and driving is not safe, so why should we put up with it any longer?
Another drunk driver. I believe we ought to consider more alcohol control, since we keep hearing about all this gun control , smoking and those kind of societal ills. Maybe the Governor could limit alcohol consumption to a maximum of one drink per day, in his new health care system.Â