Investigation: 'large, aftermarket' bumper on Jeep contributed to death...

Investigation: 'large, aftermarket' bumper on Jeep contributed to death...

A large, aftermarket bumper installed on a Jeep Wrangler contributed to the deaths of two West Linn High School students, Washington State Patrol officials say. On Saturday, the Jeep rear-ended a Honda carrying four students on a Columbia River Gorge highway.

Washington State Patrol spokesman Lt. Will Finn said the front bumper on the Jeep driven by 35-year-old Michael Calarco Portland, "intruded through the trunk and into the rear of the passenger compartment" killing Cooper Hill, 17, and Antonio Caballero, 16, both juniors at West Linn High School.

Hill, who lived in West Linn, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash; Caballero, who lived in Gladstone, died while being transported to PeaceHealth Medical Center in Vancouver.

Finn said Calarco was cited for second-degree negligent driving after prosecuting attorney Adam Kick came to the scene of the fatal crash and had a long discussion with investigators.

Finn said Kick decided to file the non-criminal citation against Calarco rather than vehicular homicide.

The three-vehicle crash occurred at 11:40 a.m. Saturday on State Route 14, five miles east of Carson, Wash.

Finn said a 16-year-old driver of a 2006 Honda Accord carrying Hill and Caballero was following a Chevrolet Cruze driven by an unnamed 17-year-old boy. The driver of the Cruze missed the turn for the Dog Mountain Trailhead and stopped the car in the middle of the busy two-lane highway, Finn said.

The driver of the Honda Accord attempted to brake to avoid the collision and was rear-ended by Calarco's Jeep. The force of the collision pushed the Honda into the Cruze.

Although investigators found personal amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the Chevrolet Cruze, they said a drug recognition expert found no signs of impairment on any of the drivers involved.

Finn said the driver of the Cruze along with other passengers admitted to possessing marijuana. Charges for possession and paraphernalia were referred to Skamania County juvenile court for possible prosecution.

On Sunday evening, hundreds gathered on the West Linn High School football field to mourn the loss of Hill and Caballero. West Linn School District officials plan to have a crisis team at the high school Monday morning to help students cope with their grief.

-- Stuart Tomlinson

stomlinson@oregonian.com
503-221-8313
@ORweather

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...p_driver_will_not_face_vehi.html#incart_river

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Piss off media.

Curious to read the actual crash report.

I agree. I feel for the family but this is just an accident maybe they would of still died if he didn't have the aftermarket bumper. We will never know.

This is almost as credible as "gun causes death in shooting."

Maybe the cruze driver shouldn't have stopped dead on a state road.

Spoons now suspect in obesity cases.

Ok that's a bit of a stretch ... Sad accident but this is simply trying to make a name for themselves by blaming something

Well it's just easy to just blame it on the bumper and end the investigation.

The driver of the Cruze missed the turn for the Dog Mountain Trailhead and stopped the car in the middle of the busy two-lane highway......Although investigators found personal amounts of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the Chevrolet Cruze, they said a drug recognition expert found no signs of impairment on any of the drivers involved."

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drug recognition expert..hmm and the kid in the Cruz stopped after missing the exit - not pulled off the road but stopped quick enough to cause the driver behind him to panic stop as well.... no possible drug influence there.

such a shame, I feel for the families of the kids that got killed but am really curious as to the impact and where the bumper played a role. I'm only guessing the Jeep had a large stinger on it but for it to pass all the way into the back seat does not say much for the construction of the other vehicle.

I see people hitting the brakes and stopping in the lane way too often when they miss an exit or realize they are in the wrong lane to make an exit on the freeway! I've had to take exits I didn't want because there was nowhere else to go after the dumbass stopped in the lane :doh:

I worry about this very thing (stopping on a busy road) as my daughter learns to drive and is one of the things I tell her often.... if you're not in the proper lane to make your exit or you miss your exit, do not stop! continue to the next exit or to a place where you can safely pull off the road and figure out what you need to do to get back on track.

There are 75+ comments posted to this article so far. One guy called the stinger "The Death Bumper". It's a tragic accident. One of the definitions of "accident" in the Random House dictionary is, "something that happens unexpectedly", like a car stopped in the middle of the highway.

JKWrang said:

Maybe the cruze driver shouldn't have stopped dead on a state road.

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X2 no shit right?

Seems like most multi vehicle collisions would have a bumper contributing to the damage.

Wow, there's so much stupid in the comments... and a couple of vague details in the article that would give a better picture here. I'd really be interested to see what's in the police report for the crash.

The article says the driver of the Accord "attempted to brake to avoid the collision" but it doesn't say if he had successfully came to a stop before the Accord was struck by the Wrangler. It makes me wonder if the Accord would have been able to stop in time had the Wrangler not been there.

Either way, I'm pretty shocked that the driver of the Cruze wasn't faulted for stopping abruptly in the middle of the highway. There are people who are trying to argue in the comments on that article that the guy behind is always at fault in a rear end collision because they must not have left enough space between vehicles to stop safely. That is not true. Unless you are stopping to avoid a hazard in front of you, you must check your rear view mirror to double check vehicle spacing and slow down to a stop in such a way that you don't become a hazard for anyone behind you. Sure, spacing was likely a factor for the Wrangler hitting the Accord, and possibly the Accord hitting the Cruze (again, the article doesn't mention the spacing between vehicles), but if the guy driving the Cruze had simply slowed down and pulled over into the shoulder, then stopped, he wouldn't have set the conditions for the accident in the first place.

The whole case reminds me of the case in Quebec where a young woman came to a complete stop in the left lane of a highway and got out of her car to help ducks across the road. Her vehicle was rear ended by a motorcyclist that wasn't able to avoid the car due to traffic, killing instantly killing the driver and passenger on the bike. She was sentenced to 90 days in prison, 240 hours community service, and is prohibited from driving for 10 years. She's trying to appeal, but I don't think she stands much of a chance. There's a pretty clear 60 km/h minimum speed posted on Quebec highways, and since her safety hadn't been endangered by the ducks or other road hazards, it's hard for her to justify stopping in the middle of the highway. I'd say the same applies to the Cruze driver stopping in the middle of the road for a missed turn.

Also, calling this a "death bumper" really boggles my mind. One even went so far to suggest that having a lift and larger tires shouldn't be legal for on road use because it makes the bumper impact higher in a crash, and it's therefore more lethal. By the same logic, any large vehicle like a dump truck or tractor trailer could be considered a "death machine" in this sort of scenario, but since it's a modification to the stock vehicle they don't seem to care. But then again, it looks like these are the same people who think the guy behind is automatically at fault in a rear end collision...

Back in the early 2000s some moonbat named Keith Bradshire (unsure if the spelling is right) from some New York City rag wrote a propaganda book slamming SUVs and one of his things was the gaudy brush guards that used to be more popular. He'd probably shit a brick if he knew about offroad bumpers.

Teenagers, weed, and poor driving. But it's the bumpers fault.

Mike_D said:

Back in the early 2000s some moonbat named Keith Bradshire (unsure if the spelling is right) from some New York City rag wrote a propaganda book slamming SUVs and one of his things was the gaudy brush guards that used to be more popular. He'd probably shit a brick if he knew about offroad bumpers.

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Sounds like Ralph Nader's protege. First the Corvair, then SUV's, now Jeep bumpers. I'm sure the two of them could have a field day.

I just read through some of the comments and had to stop. It made me regret being alive in this day and age. People who are that stupid should not be allowed to procreate.

Sharkey said:

I just read through some of the comments and had to stop. It made me regret being alive in this day and age. People who are that stupid should not be allowed to procreate.

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You probably made it further into the comments than I did. I gave up when some clown started citing oregon statutes on an accident that happened in Washington.

Living Oregon , I'm beginning to have less & less respect for anything the Oregonian Newspaper print's Nothing but rage sheet anymore.