Last week, a tragic scene unfolded on South Clackamas River Drive where a head-on collision claimed the life of a Washington man. According to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, the crash occurred shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, resulting in deputies rushing to the 16000 block in unincorporated Clackamas County, near Oregon City.
Upon arrival, first responders discovered a devastating accident involving a 2016 Lexus IS and a 1991 Chevrolet pickup truck, the driver of the truck, 39-year-old Jason Christopher Belisle of Vancouver, WA, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other driver, Nathan Bejan, 20, of Happy Valley, and a 17-year-old passenger in the Lexus managed to escape with minor injuries that were treated by emergency personnel on-site. The impact of the crash was evident in the mangled state of both vehicles, the road littered with the remnants of what moments before were means of transport and in an instant became evidence of yet another roadway catastrophe.
Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office inter-agency Criminal Reconstruction and Forensic Technicians (CRAFT) team were quickly deployed to analyze the scene and are currently working to uncover the cause of the collision, specifically looking into whether impairment from substances played a part in the fatal event. The investigation is ongoing and the Sheriff's Office has not yet released further details surrounding the collision or potential contributing factors. For those seeking updates or to provide any information that might assist in the investigation, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office encourages reaching out.
