David Jon Blackmon, of Bend, Oregon, was involved in the theft of a pickup belonging to a portable restroom company that was servicing its portable units at Exchange 24 in the Birkenfeld area.
An investigation primarily supervised by troopers of the Oregon State Police resulted in the arrest of Barnett and the subsequent filing of an Information charging her with First Degree Manslaughter, Second Degree Assault, Third Degree Assault, Felony Strangulation, two counts of Failure to Perform Duties of a Motorist involving death or injury (commonly referred to a felony Hit and Run) and Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants.
Shortly after this secondary crash, Troopers were flagging vehicles through the fatal crash scene when they observed a male driver displaying odd driving behavior and stopped in the middle of the crash scene. Troopers contacted this male, who was visibly intoxicated, conducted a DUII investigation and the driver was arrested for DUII.
The driver of the Ford Explorer, 68-year old Robert James, and his passenger, 67-year-old Barbara James, both residents of Grand Ronde, were transported to a Lincoln City area hospital with minor injuries.
The 9-month-old infant passenger of the Ford Escape suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene after life-saving measures were performed by medical personnel.