Sweet Home Junior High Math teacher Dawn King died after the car she was riding in was struck by a train.
At about 5:14 p.m. on Friday, a 1995 Volkswagen Golf, driven by Lori Lewis, 27, of Summit was struck by a train near milepost 2.3 on state Highway 180, Eddyville-Nashville Road, when she came to a railroad intersection.
As Lewis proceeded through the intersection, her vehicle was struck in the left rear section by an eastbound train, according to Oregon State Police lt. Jerry Palmer, based in Newport.
The train was owned by Willamette and Pacific Railroad and operated by Rose Bachmeier, 57, of Albany.
Lewis’ vehicle was knocked away from the train and struck a power pole.
Passengers in Lewis’ vehicle were her sisters, July Lewis, 25, of Portland and Dawn King, 31, of Summit. King was seven and a half months pregnant.
Lori and Julie Lewis were transported to Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital where they were treated for injuries and released.
King was taken by Life Flight to Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital where she was listed in critical condition. An emergency cesarean section was performed, and King’s infant son, Neil Wiley Lewis King, was held for observation at OHSU. After surgery, King succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at 1:05 a.m. on Aug. 2.
Bachmeier was not injured.
King had been a teacher at Sweet Home Junior High School for five and a half years.
“Great teacher,” Principal Hal Huschka said. “She was very easy to get along with. She was very popular.”
King taught advanced math, Math I and Math II, Huschka said. “She was really the head of the math department. She was very instrumental in bringing about some positive changes at the junior high. She loved kids and was excited about becoming a mother.”
King’s death is a big loss, Huschka said. She had already received approval for a yearlong leave of absence to care for her child, and her job had already been filled by a temporary hire.
“Obviously, for the staff, it’s a very tragic blow,” Huschka said. “We were all very close to her.”
All of her students were in the eighth grade and will be freshmen at the high school next year, Huschka said. The high school is prepared to talk with the students if necessary next school year.
The train had 52 cars total with five locomotives under power.
Responding to the accident were Oregon State Police, Pacific West Ambulance, East County Quick Response Team, Toledo Fire and Rescue, Oregon Department of Transportation and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.