Snowy weather sparks crashes
Five accidents reported near Jordan Valley during weekend
By William Lundquist
Argus Observer
Monday, December 10, 2007 11:10 AM PST
Ontario — Snowy weather conditions resulted in five crashes in the Jordan Valley area during the weekend, Oregon State Police Lt. Richard Pileggi said Monday.
At 1:05 p.m. Sunday, he said, a driver had just passed an Oregon Department of Transportation vehicle, 14 miles south of Jordan Valley on U.S. Highway 95, and lost control of her van when she pulled back into her own lane, striking another car.
Pileggi said Eltonia Plant, 64, Reno, Nev., was cited for not maintaining a single lane with her 1971 GMC van. She collided with a 2008 Pontiac driven by Barton Bowling, 54, Weiser. Pileggi said Plant sustained minor injuries while Bowling was unhurt.
Earlier Sunday, at 10:36 a.m., Pileggi said, there had been another crash on U.S. Highway 95 near the same milepost. He said the OSP had few details on that crash because at least one of the drivers had been taken to the hospital and released, so the officer would have to follow up to get the names. Because of the weather, Pileggi said, two OSP officers worked the Jordan Valley- area all weekend.
In the Ontario area, he said, the story was four driving under the influence of alcohol (DUII) arrests. On Saturday, he said, Michael Brown, 28, Council, was stopped for a traffic violation on Foothill Drive and Northwest 36th in Ontario and charged with DUII, as well as having no insurance and driving while suspended. Pileggi said he blew a .09 alcohol test.
At 1:59 a.m. Sunday, on U.S. Highway 20 two miles west of Cairo Junction, David Wenger, 37, Vale, was stopped for speeding and blew a .10 test. At 10:06 a.m. Sunday, 14 miles north of Ontario on Interstate Highway 84, Melissa Singson, 30, Bonney Lake, Wash., was stopped after being reported as a drunk driver. Troopers found an open container of alcohol, Pileggi said, and Singson blew a .23, nearly three times the legal limit. All three drivers were arrested and taken to Malheur County Jail, he said. He could not release the name of the fourth DUII driver, a juvenile.
In another arrest, Petra Garcia, 41, Caldwell, was stopped on Oregon Highway 201, just south of the north freeway interchange, for not wearing a seat belt. She was found to have a warrant for her arrest for failure to appear out of Malheur County Court. Pileggi said meth was also found on her. She was taken to Malheur County Jail.
