Fatal Crash On I-84 in Malheur County
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, October 19th, 2022 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
MALHEUR COUNTY – (Release from the Oregon State Police) Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 84 near milepost 378.
Preliminary investigation revealed a westbound black Freightliner towing a flatbed trailer, operated by Akbar Tanai (32) of San Antonio, TX, was rear-ended by a blue Jeep Liberty, operated by Eric Torres Santana (29) of Caldwell, ID, as they traveled in the slow lane. After the initial collision the Freightliner pulled to the right shoulder and the Jeep came to rest within the fast lane. A black Honda Fit, operated by Tracy Haws (48) of Nampa, ID, was traveling in the westbound fast lane and subsequently struck the Jeep Liberty.
Eric Torres Santana and his passenger, Noel Alejandro Santana Dominguez (20) of Caldwell, ID, were ejected from the Jeep. Torres Santana sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased. Santana Dominguez was transported to an area hospital and later pronounced deceased. Haws received critical injuries and was transported to an area hospital. Tanai was uninjured.
I-84 was affected for approximately 4 hours while the OSP Collision Reconstruction Unit investigated the scene. OSP was assisted by Ontario Police Department, Ontario Fire Department, Treasure Valley Paramedics and ODOT. In addition, multiple good Samaritans assisted on the scene and OSP would like to thank them for their efforts.
