Four persons were injured in a two-car collision at Holley Church on June 12.
The accident occurred when a Black GMC Jimmy driven by Eric Lambert, 17, of Sweet Home missed a stop sign on Old Holley Road at its intersection with Highway 228, Linn County Deputy Dan Brewer said. A white Suburban, driven by Mark Pace, 51, of Sweet Home, was headed toward Sweet Home on Highway 228 and hit the GMC.
The Suburban flipped over landing upside down in the ditch across from Holley Church. Lambert’s vehicle entered the ditch then turned into the Holley Church parking lot damaging a sign and shrubs. It continued on across the church’s back lawn before crashing through some shrubs and through the side of a garage at 25768 Old Holley Rd. The garage belongs to K.G. Seleen who was at home with his wife at the time of the accident.
He said he heard a loud noise that sounded like an explosion. He went outside to check on it and found the GMC in his garage.
The back end of the GMC protruded through the wall of the garage, and the front end had come to rest on top of the Seleens’ car.
The reason Lambert did not make the stop sign is not clear, Deputy Brewer, who is investigating the accident. For some reason, Lambert’s vehicle did not make the stop sign. When the two vehicles collided, Lambert was apparently knocked unconscious until after the vehicle had crashed into the garage. One of his passengers apparently turned the ignition off.
Pace was transported to Lebanon Community Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.
Injuries to Ian Bostrom, a passenger in Lambert’s vehicle, appeared to be minor. He also was transported to LCH.
Deputy Brewer was called away to another incident and was unable to complete the investigation that night.
Lambert and his other passenger Jordan Johnson, 17, of Sweet Home, also were injured and transported to LCH. He did not know the extent of the injuries.
The investigation into the accident remains open.