Grants Pass, OR : Three people, dog die in head-on crash in Josephine County on Friday night, May 20, 2016

Three people and a dog died in a two-car crash about 40 miles south of Grants Pass Friday night, according to Oregon State Police.

The wreck was one of two fatal crashes that state troopers responded to within hours in Josephine County. In both cases, investigators think drinking might have played a role.

The first occurred at about 7:30 p.m., Tommy E. Dodson, 69, of Cave Junction, was driving a Subaru Legacy on O'Brien Road when he lost control on a corner near Waldo Road, crossed over the center line and hit a Mazda Protege head-on, state police said. Dodson and the Mazda's occupants, 62-year-old Michael T. Kennedy; 51-year-old Tammy L. Blind, both of O'Brien, and a dog, all died at the scene.

Police said alcohol and speed could have contributed to the crash. Dodson, according to police, also was driving with a suspended license.

In the second crash, Corey Clifford Ray Steward, 21, of Wolf Creek, lost control of his Nissan pickup on Lower Wolf Creek Road near Wolf Creek at about 10:30 p.m., police said. His truck rolled about five times before it stopped on the road's shoulder.

Before troopers arrived, several other people came to the crash site, police said. They were confrontational with medics, but left before troopers got there. Later, a car started tailgating an ambulance while it took Steward to Rogue Regional Medical Center, police said, but the car disappeared before a trooper could find it.

Steward died at the hospital. He also had a suspended driver's license, police said, and investigators believe alcohol could have been a factor in the crash.

Source :
3 people, dog die in head-on crash in Josephine County