Linn County Sheriff’s investigators are continuing to investigate a rollover accident in the Quartzville area that left an Albany man seriously injured, according to Undersheriff Jim Yon.
Yon said deputies and other rescue personnel responded at approximately 4:55 p.m. on July 2 to a report of a single-vehicle rollover crash near milepost 16 on Quartzville Road.
Upon arrival, deputies found a 2000 Ford Ranger pickup truck had crashed off the roadway, falling approximately 80 feet down an embankment. The vehicle came to rest on its side and was teetering on a large boulder at the edge of Quartzville Creek.
Deputies found the driver and passenger still in the vehicle and unable to get out on their own. Deputies secured the vehicle with a chain and winch to keep it from rolling over into the rushing water below. Sweet Home Fire Department personnel used the Jaws of Life to extricate the occupants from the vehicle.
The driver, River John Stredwick, 19, of Albany, was transported by ambulance to the Albany General Hospital where he was treated and released with minor injuries.
The passenger, Joel Alexis Martinez-Meza, 20, from Albany, was transported by Life Flight Air Ambulance to the Salem Hospital for treatment of serious injuries sustained in the crash.
Based on the initial investigation, alcohol and marijuana consumption, along with excessive speed of the vehicle may have been contributing factors to the crash, Yon said.
He said Martinez-Meza remained in serious condition last week.
The investigation is continuing.