Hwy 101 crash kills parents of infant, injures 6

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A four-vehicle crash in the afternoon on the 4th of July left two people dead, an infant without parents and six others hurt near Lakeside in Coos County.

The crash on Highway 101 shortly after 1 p.m. involved a Kia Optima, a Toyota Corolla, a Dodge Ram and a Subaru Outback, the Oregon State Police said in a release on Saturday.

It began when the Kia crossed the center line and sideswiped the Toyota, then hit the Ram head-on. The oncoming Subaru couldn’t avoid the crash and also hit the Kia head-on.

The parents and the infant, all from Coos Bay, were in the Kia, driven by 38-year-old Manual Samuel Starr. In the backseat were Shatara Rosemarie Holmes, 39, and the 7-month-old girl. Starr and Holmes died at the scene. Authorities said the infant appeared alright but was taken to the hospital for examination.

There were five people inside the Ram, officials said. The driver, 55-year-old Jose Maria Rodriguez Garcia of Coos Bay, was seriously hurt. The front-seat passenger, 44-year-old Nicole Virginia Rodriguez, was airlifted to a hospital due to her serious injures.

The others in the Ram, ages 20, 14 and 3, had minor injuries.

Three others were in the Subaru. The driver, 61-year-old Lori Priest of Lake Stevens, Washington, had minor injuries. The two other passengers, ages 55 and 10, weren’t hurt.

The 61-year-old driver of the Toyota, Kent McQuillen of Florence, was not hurt.

Authorities said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. They added that stretch of road was closed for about four hours during the initial investigation.

A total of eight different agencies responded to the crash scene to help, the Oregon State Police said.