VALE – Five people are dead after a two-vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 20 on Vines Hill west of Vale.
According to the Oregon State Police the crash occurred at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, July 6.
Police said the crash occurred when a 2005 Kia Sedona, operated by Lance Lightfoot, 62, of Meridian, Id., traveling east down Vines Hill drifted out of his lane for an unknown reason and slammed into an oncoming 2015 Nissan sedan, driven by Cecilia Loma, 27, Carson, Calif., in the westbound lane.
The two vehicles collided on the westbound lane shoulder and caught fire.
Lightfoot and Loma died at the scene. The occupants in the Nissan sedan – Erik Ortiz, 26, Carson, Calif, a 15-year-old male and an 8-month-old female – also died in the crash.
The highway was closed for about four hours.
The Oregon State Police, the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, the Vale Fire and Ambulance and the state Transportation Department responded to the scene. The highway was closed for several hours but a single lane was opened about 11 a.m.
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