A Canby driver died in a collision Friday morning on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in north Salem, according to the Salem Police Department.
Police determined that the driver, Brett D. Dhone, 37, “suffered a medical event prior to the collision,” the agency said in a news release.
Around 7:30 a.m. Friday, witnesses reported seeing a pickup truck headed south pass through the intersection with Northeast Broadway Street before slowly driving off the road.
The truck then struck a tree and traveled back onto the road, where it stopped, according to the police statement.
Passersby tried to provide medical aid to Dhone, who was unresponsive, before paramedics arrived. Dhone was taken to Salem Hospital where he later died, police said.
The parkway was closed for around two hours between Northeast Liberty and Broadway streets.
Salem police said they were still investigating the crash and had no other details to release.
The agency said that the fatal crash was the 20th this year in Salem, resulting in 21 deaths. That’s significantly more compared with the same timeframe in 2023, when there were 11 fatal crashes resulting in 12 deaths.
Salem Police Chief Trevor Womack recently told Salem Reporter that 2024 was a record-breaking year for fatal crashes.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
