Two people were killed in separate accidents on U.S. Highway 101 Saturday near Lincoln City and Sunday near Seal Rock.
Oregon State Police said Leslie R. Campbell, 45, of Seal Rock died about 6:09 p.m. Sunday just south of Seal Rock when his southbound Toyota Matrix left the highway and struck a tree. Police said Campbell was alone in his car and it was unclear why he drove off the road.
On Saturday, Oregon State Police said Paula Babcock, 69, of Donald was killed about 3:31 p.m. in a four-vehicle crash on Highway 101 near its intersection with Oregon Highway 229 south of Lincoln City.
Police said Babcock was driving north in a Chevrolet Spark, when it left the lane and sideswiped a southbound Tesla driven by Robert Gates, 57, of Salem. Babcock’s car then collided with a southbound GMC Yukon, driven by Mary McCarthy, 62, of Lincoln City. After it was struck, the Tesla entered the northbound lane and collided with a black Kia Sorento operated by Diane Rodriguez, 65, of Lincoln City.
Police said Babcock died at the scene.
Rodriguez and a passenger, James Rodriguez, 76, Lincoln City, were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, police said. McCarthy reported minor injuries, as did Gates and his passenger, Alena Gates, 41, also of Salem.
The highway was closed for approximately seven hours during the police investigation.
I bought a new car last year with a lane keeping assist feature, something I didn’t know existed before I bought the car. We live in an area with very dangerous roads and highways where the only thing separating oncoming traffic is paint. If everyone had lane keeping assist in their vehicles we might be reading far fewer stories like this.