OSP identifies crash victim

By Terry Murry on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

UMATILLA – Oregon State Police has announced the identity of a man killed Sunday night in a single-vehicle crash in the city of Umatilla. Alfredo Zaragoza, 34, of Hermiston was pronounced deceased in the crash.

OSP was called to investigate the fatality crash, because a police officer witnessed the crash. Umatilla Police Chief Darla Huxel stated a UPD patrol officer was passed by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed and turned around to attempt to stop the driver.

“Before he could catch up to the vehicle, the driver lost control on a corner and crashed,” Huxel wrote in an email. “He was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

The Oregon State Police investigation into the crash continues.

Editor’s note: this story was corrected to remove the phrase “result of a police action” instead saying an officer was a witness to the collision.