Pamplin Media Group – Motorcycle fatality

A Woodburn man succumbs to injuries sustained in an early Saturday morning motorcycle crash on 99E

Woodburn Police Department reported that a man succumbed to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on Pacific Hwy. 99E following an incident at a local bar.

Police spokesman Tommy Moore said that at about 1:35 a.m. Saturday officers responded to calls of a disturbance at End Zone Bar and Grill in the 900 block of N. Pacific Hwy. Police arrived at the scene at 1:40 a.m. where witnesses reported that Oscar Martinez, 39, of Woodburn had been seen striking a parked vehicle with a crowbar. Martinez was not at the scene, and the car reportedly belonged to his ex girlfriend.

Moore said police were investigating the vandalism when Martinez returned roughly 25 minutes later on a motorcycle. Officers watched him rev the motorcycle engine while riding in circles on the opposite side of the highway.

As Officers prepared to enter the roadway to to approach Martinez, he fled southbound on N Pacific Hwy at a high rate of speed and crashed into the rear of a southbound vehicle moments later at 99E and Laurel Ave.

Officers arrived at the crash scene and immediately summoned medical and fire personnel. Medical personnel declared Martinez deceased on scene. The lone occupant of the vehicle Martinez struck was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation but did not appear to have serious injuries.

The Oregon State Police Crash Reconstruction Team and the Oregon Department of Transportation also responded to the scene; OSP to conduct the crash investigation and ODOT to manage the closure of N Pacific HWY between Lincoln St. and Young St., detouring north and southbound traffic for approximately six hours. The highway reopened at about 8 a.m.