THE GORGE, Wash. (KOIN 6) — Two West Linn High School students were killed in a crash in the Gorge Saturday, the school’s principal confirmed to KOIN 6 News.
Antonio Caballero and Cooper Hill died in the crash on Hwy 14 near milepost 54 around 11:30 a.m., the principal said. Both were juniors and Hill played on the lacrosse team.The crash
Investigators said a total of three cars and six people were involved in the crash, which does not involve drugs or alcohol, the Washington State Police confirmed Sunday morning. Earlier, they said drugs or alcohol was involved.
The 17-year-old driver of a Chevy Cruz was in front of a Honda Accord driven by a 16-year-old from West Linn. A Jeep Wrangler, driven by Portland resident Michael Calarco, was behind the Honda as they all headed east on SR 14.
The driver of the Chevy missed the turn for Dog Mountain Trail Head and stopped in the middle of the road, the Washington State Police said. The Honda slowed to avoid hitting the Chevy, but the Jeep Wrangler struck the rear of the Honda, pushing it into the Chevy Cruz.
There were four people in the Honda Accord. The driver and a 17-year-old passenger were both injured and taken to Providence Hood River for treatment. It is not known at this time what their conditions are.
Another passenger, 16, died en route to PeaceHealth Southwest. The fourth person in the Honda died at the scene. He was from Gladstone.
Neither the driver of the Cruz nor Calarco, driving the Jeep, were injured.
Investigators blamed the crash on driver inattentiveness. Calarco, 35, faces second-degree negligence charges at this time.
All other charges are being referred to juvenile court.Reaction
About 50 West Linn High School students and one counselor gathered on the school’s football field Saturday afternoon after news of the crash became known.
Senior Caroline Freiling and many others from West Linn were in disbelief at the news.
“I don’t feel like this is real. It can’t be real,” she said. “But it is.”
Caballero and Hill were both well-liked.
“People are just like, ‘I love you. Are you OK? Yeah, I’m OK,’ and then hugging it out and just crying together,” Freiling said. “It’s very silent.”
This is the second tragic accident to hit West Linn High School in a less than a year.
In June 2014, Maddi Higgins and Hayden Soyk died in a crash on SW Petes Mountain Road. Higgins, 17, was a student at the school, while Soyk had graduated and was attending Clackamas County Community College. He was 18.
Higgins, in fact, was on the softball team with Freiling, The tragedy left her totally stunned.
“How could this happen again? Like, that was just what everyone kept repeating, how could this happen again?” she said.
The students, the school, and the community say they are West Linn Strong.
“Even if you don’t know them super-well you can still feel the sense of they aren’t going to be there anymore,” Freiling said. “And you know everybody else, who’s, like, affected by it. So even if you don’t know them, you are, like, a part of it still.”