Infant survives head-on crash that killed mother, grandfather
EDDYVILLE, Ore. - A 2-month-old boy survived a head-on car crash that killed his mother and grandfather Thursday morning.
Daniel Loper, 57, and his daughter, April Sherri Loper, 34, of Toledo died in the crash. The infant boy in a car seat was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis with possible injuries, police said.
The crash happened at 8:17 a.m. on Highway 20, east of Eddyville.
According to state police, Wallace M. Beaver, 45, of Albany was westbound in a 2001 Dodge Dakota when he crossed the centerline in a curve and collided head-on with the Loper's 2008 Chevrolet Aveo.
Beaver was taken by ambulance with injuries that are not expected to be life-threatening, police said.
Police said all three adults were wearing seatbelts.
my heart goes's out to the family. RIP April and Daniel Loper you will Be missed my family and I are praying for the family to stay strong threw this most horrible time in there life's.April will be missed by OUR family alot she was allways the one to be there for us my mom Margaret Jones, Angela, Rosie and Tim Jones send our prayer's to the family we our so sorry for you. she is another beautiful angle in heaven lots of love to all u. Rosie Trejo-Jones
April waited a life time to be a mother now she is gone i only pray god keeps her tell she can be a mom again i know Lincoln county wont ever forget u. from our Canada friends to the Jones we love u.
Careless! I guess you thought you were the only driver on the road that day so you could take up any lane you wanted. So much for that, YOU KILLED TWO PEOPLE!Â
I'm sorry but you people need to stop pointing fingers and placing blame. That road is dangerous especially at that curve. Even at the speed limit that curve is dangerous. You don't have the slightest clue what caused it so stop assuming. It's not like it's the first time it's ever happened and I'm sure it wont be the last. Hopefully they have found a contractor that knows what they are doing and can correct the mess the first one made and finish that section of road before more people die.
 @Greg R. O.K. So they need to fix it. But if people would slow down and stay in their own lane, this accident would not have taken place.
My heart just goes out to the families of this tragic incident.:( Drivers are just getting too careless.Keep an eye on the news tomorrow for another story regarding a driver who wasn't paying attention. I won't reveal the details, but it was caught on video and is pretty hair-raising. The story will break tomorrow (Friday), but will be on another news station.
The real issue is a careless driver crossed center and killed. Â Slow down and obey traffic laws and this corner is not an issue. Â But let's point fingers and throw money at the situation.
After identifying this stretch of roadway as deadly years ago, Oregon has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and is still 4 or 5 years away before the new stretch will be ready. So how many more deaths will result before then? One more is too many.
Â
You can thank the contractor and ODT for this.
This happened about 500 yards from my house. We heard the horrible crash and immediately called 911 before even going down to see what happened; you could just tell it was going to be bad. This corner MUST be changed. I can't tell you how many accidents we have seen since the "realignment" of this road. There used to be a reader board that said 30 MPH curve ahead, which, since the state has put down rumble strips, the sign has been removed. This is a dangerous, deadly curve and west bound traffic goes too fast around the corner and there is nowhere to go but into the east bound lane. Now that 2 people have lost their lives I certainly hope ODOT will take a look at this road once more. My prayers go out to all involved in the accident. I certainly hope the baby and the driver of the pickup truck survive.Â
 @phillygal My condolences to the families of the people who died. Now, I'm saying this: I am SICK TO DEATH of drivers not maintaining their lane around ANY curve on ANY roadway. I have seen so many near misses that I wish I could give up driving altogether - it' not possible but I wish I could. While in the passenger seat of my son's car, I have taken dozens of photos of vehicles that are over the center line or over the bicycle lane line as they go around blind curves. Wallace Beaver should be charged with vehicular manslaughter, at the very least.
Just couldn't stay in your own lane could you!?