(Courtesy/Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal Monday night crash east of Salem.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, a 911 caller reported a vehicle had crashed into a pond near the intersection of Southeast Joseph Street and Southeast 71st Avenue, according to a Tuesday news release.
Bystanders helped get the passenger, 45-year-old Peter Kurbat, of Aumsville, out of the car.
When deputies arrived, the car was submerged. The driver — 81-year-old Frank Kurbat, of Salem — died, the news release said.
A bystander and deputies gave CPR to Peter Kurbat until medics arrived and transported him to a local hospital. He remains hospitalized in critical condition, the news release said.
Deputies determined the car, a 1999 Buick, was headed east on Joseph Street in heavy fog and continued through the T-intersection with Southeast 71st Avenue. The car then went through a fence and into the pond.
“Investigators believe speed and foggy conditions were contributing factors to the crash,” the news release said.
-Ardeshir Tabrizian