Two killed in head-on collision on Highway 20 - Philomath News (2024)

Two people were killed and three people seriously injured in a three-vehicle crash Monday evening on Highway 20 about 3 miles west of Burnt Woods, Oregon State Police reported.

Troopers were dispatched to a report of the crash at 6:35 p.m. near milepost 30 in Lincoln County.

“The cause of the crash is believed to be unsafe passing,” OSP said through a news release.

OSP’s preliminary investigation indicates that a Toyota Rav4 with Jose Manuel Zapata, 29, of Portland, at the wheel was headed west on the highway when he tried to pass a Dodge Ram 2500 that was hauling a camper trailer. During the attempted pass, the Rav4 collided head-on with an Acura TL driven by Scott Thomas Novotny, 34, of Newport.

Zapata was declared deceased at the scene. OSP believes he was not wearing a seatbelt. A passenger in the Toyota, 31-year-old Joseph Mauricio Cruz, of Portland, was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries.

Novotny was transported via Life Flight helicopter to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis with life-threatening injuries and was later declared deceased.

The driver of the truck pulling the camper, 78-year-old Raphael Francis Spielman, of Gaston, and his passenger, Janice Kay Spielman, 75, of Gaston, were transported to the hospital with serious injuries.

Philomath Fire and Rescue responded with an engine company of four personnel and a chief officer.

“I was first to arrive and discovered two vehicles, one with a single driver that was trapped and in critical condition, and another vehicle with two occupants, one that was deceased and another with critical injuries but not trapped,” Deputy Fire Chief Rich Saalsaa said.

The two vehicles involved in the head-on collision were in the same vicinity with the truck and camper about one-fourth of a mile down the road, Saalsaa said. Toledo Fire Department personnel were helping the couple in the truck, that end of the scene managed by Fire Chief Larry Robeson.

“The debris field of that accident was nearly (the size of) a football field,” Saalsaa said. “The engine of vehicle two (the Acura) was separated from the vehicle by 50 feet in the bushes west of the car.”

Saalsaa said the vehicles involved in the head-on collision were mostly destroyed, which made extrication difficult.

“PFR crews did a great job of accessing the patient by removal of the roof and cutting through panels to get the patient out of the vehicle,” Saalsaa said, referring to the Toyota’s driver. “PFR trains extensively in vehicle extrication and it took nearly 30 minutes to free the victim.”

The Life Flight helicopter landed at Ellmaker State Park, which was roughly 2 miles from the crash scene. Philomath Fire and Rescue personnel freed Novotny from his vehicle and he was transported via Corvallis Fire ambulance to the helicopter, Saalsaa said.

A PacWest ambulance transported the Toyota’s passenger to the hospital in Corvallis, he added.

“Incidents like this are very challenging,” Saalsaa said. “The separation of the crashes made for a difficult assessment.”

Saalsaa said the crash occurred in an “unprotected area” — a stretch between Eddyville and Blodgett where no fire agency has jurisdiction.

“Resources had to travel some distance to get to the scene,” Saalsaa said, the trip from Philomath covering some 20 miles. “Getting to the scene was also difficult as the backup of vehicles on the highway stretched for a couple miles at one point and people were turning around off the highway, which blocked access to the scene with larger trucks and RVs.”

Saalsaa indicated that communication was an issue.

“Radio coverage in that area was also spotty at times,” he said. “I noticed the OSP troopers holding their radios up to get better reception.”

OSP reported that Highway 20 “was impacted for approximately six hours during the on-scene investigation.”

Beyond the agencies mentioned, Eddyville Fire and the Oregon Department of Transportation also assisted at the scene.