2 Dec 2022 Motor Vehicle Collision at the S-Curve in Monmouth, Oregon
JUNE 26, 2026, MONMOUTH, OREGON — On the evening of December 2, 2022, I was driving with my flatmate to return cans and purchase a money order for our rent. As we approached the intersection of Main Street and Highway 99W near the S-curve, I noticed that eastbound traffic was unusually backed up, stretching almost to the highway. Something serious had just happened. When we crested the bend, I saw the cause—a fresh two-vehicle collision. One car, driven by an elderly woman traveling east toward Independence, had been struck on the front driver-side quarter panel and door by a younger male heading west toward Monmouth, who appeared to be making a left turn into a residential driveway. At approximately five hundred yards from the scene, while still in traffic, I activated my hazard lights. Realizing traffic ahead was slowly trying to bypass the wreck—unintentionally blocking rescue access and endangering everyone involved—I engaged the amber-white lightbar on the roof of my BMW X...