Two Vehicle Incidents in Different Parts of Oregon Coast Range, One Killed

Published 05/06/26 at 7:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Banks Oregon) – Two vehicle incidents in different parts of the Oregon Coast Range ended up with a fatality near Florence and a rather bizarre police chase on Highway 6. (Graphic Washington County Sheriffs: Air 5 image of the car stopped at Banks)

The first was on Saturday, May 2. A Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy attempted to stop a speeding driver on Sunset Highway shortly after midnight, however the motorist shut off their headlights and fled, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies tracking the call reported the vehicle continued westbound at high speed before taking the Highway 6 exit toward the coast. Air 5, already on standby at the Hillsboro Airport, launched to assist with the pursuit.

The flight crew located the vehicle on Highway 6 as it turned around and headed back east toward Sunset Highway, still traveling fast with its lights off. Air 5 followed the vehicle until the driver lost control and crashed near the eastbound on-ramp to Sunset Highway at NW Mountaindale Road in Banks.

The driver ran from the wreck and hid in the yard of a nearby home. Air 5 maintained visual contact while deputies and a K9 team responded. Deputy Nealeigh and K9 Blitz found the suspect hiding underneath a truck parked in a driveway.

Hillsboro / Oregon Coast Beach Connection

Deputies identified the driver as 25-year-old Abayomi Vidal-Avalos of Cornelius. He was arrested and booked on charges of attempting to elude, reckless driving, DUII, and probation violations.

Authorities ask that anyone with information who has not yet spoken with deputies is asked to contact the Washington County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line at 503-629-0111 and reference case number 50-26-6004.

A three-vehicle crash involving two motorcycles left one rider dead and another seriously injured Sunday afternoon on Highway 126 in Lane County, according to Oregon State Police (OSP).

Troopers were called to the scene at 1:54 p.m. on May 3, 2026, near milepost 2.7, in the Oregon Coast Range. Investigators said a white Volvo 240 driven by 50-year-old Lorna Marie Trujillo of Florence slowed in the eastbound lane to turn left into a mobile home park near Rose Hill Road. A green Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail, operated by 38-year-old Brandon Taylor Oetken of Florence, struck the rear of the Volvo, throwing the rider to the ground.

A second motorcycle - a white Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic ridden by 65-year-old John Carlos Moreno, also of Florence - then collided with the back of the green motorcycle. Moreno lost control.

Oregon Coast Highway 101 / Coast Range Traffic

“The white Harley Davidson slid approximately 150 feet before coming to a stop,” OSP said. “Good Samaritans stopped to render aid to the two down riders.”

Oetken was pronounced dead at the scene. Moreno was transported to a hospital with serious injuries. Trujillo was taken to a hospital as a precaution after reporting pain.

Highway 126 was partially closed for about an hour during the investigation.

OSP was assisted by Western Lane Fire and Rescue, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Florence Police Department, the Lane County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

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