PHOTO COURTESY OF OSP
Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers are continuing the investigation into Thursday morning’s fatal crash on Interstate 84 near milepost 330, just east of Durkee in Baker County.
Upon arriving on scene, emergency crews found two vehicles had collided head on and a third vehicle was also struck.
Preliminary information indicates that on Dec. 17 at approximately 9:25 a.m., a blue 2003 Chevy Suburban operated by Billie Jo Aguilar, 39, with two female juvenile passengers, ages 12 and 14, of Wendell, Idaho, had been traveling westbound on Interstate 84 when the Suburban lost control on the icy roadway and slid across the grassy median into the eastbound lanes. A 2014 Peterbilt commercial motor vehicle, operated by Kendall Lee Lenderman, 42, of Dublin, Ga., was traveling eastbound, had slowed but was unable to evasively maneuver when the Suburban impacted head on into the Peterbuilt.
Both vehicles then continued to slide off the right shoulder of the eastbound lanes and impact into a 2014 Volvo commercial motor vehicle that was parked and occupied by John Patrick Henry, 40, of Nampa, Idaho. Shortly after impact with the Volvo, the Suburban and the Peterbilt caught on fire and both became quickly engulfed.
Both Aguilar and the 12-year-old passenger were deceased at the scene.
Good Samaritans were able to get the 14-year-old out of the Suburban while it was on fire. The 14-year-old juvenile was transported to St. Alphonsus in Baker City and later life flighted to St. Alphonsus in Boise, Idaho. Lenderman and Henry were not injured.
The Peterbilt was hauling a flatbed trailer with lumber and the Volvo was hauling a tanker trailer containing oil additive.
One lane of Interstate 84 was shut down over four hours and OSP is being assisted by the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Huntington Fire Department.
