No criminal charges in fatal wreck

Ore. crash killed Gasquet woman

Criminal charges will not be filed against a man who nodded off while driving his car, triggering a three-car crash on Highway 101 in Harbor, Ore., earlier this year that killed a Gasquet woman.

“The state police did a very thorough investigation,” Curry County District Attorney Everett Dial said Monday. “This was an unfortunate and tragic accident.”

The initial story reported by Wescom News Service about the May 20 accident stated that a witness saw a pickup driven by Harold Bickley, 76, of Chico, Calif., attempting to pass a car in a no-passing zone in front of the Oregon Department of Transportation weigh station. It struck the Toyota Tacoma pickup driven by Maritess Demoret, 31, who died at the scene.

However, Wescom News Service has since learned that the Oregon State Police report did not say Bickley was trying to pass, but that he crossed the center line.

Dial said that Bickley nodded off, crossed the line, then tried to correct.

Dial said that after receipt and review of laboratory reports and the OSP investigation reports, he determined the fatal accident was an accident and not criminal.

“The laboratory reports showed that Mr. Bickley did not have narcotics, alcohol or other substances in his system which could have affected his driving,” Dial said.

“There was no evidence which indicated that he had been driving recklessly or negligently prior to the accident,” he said.

Demoret was the administrative assistant to the director of the Del Norte Community Health Center in Crescent City.

OSP Trooper Brandon Smithers reported that at approximately 4:50 p.m. on May 20, a 1999 Dodge pickup driven by Bickley was northbound on Highway 101 near milepost 361 when it crossed the center line and collided nearly head-on with the southbound pickup driven by Demoret.

After impact, the Toyota pickup rolled onto its top and came to rest on the southbound shoulder. A southbound 1995 Ford Thunderbird braked hard and had minor contact with the Toyota as it came to a stop. The driver of that car, Noemi Hernandez, 31, of Crescent City, was not injured.

Bickley and his wife, Gloria, 74, were taken by ambulance to Sutter Coast Hospital for treatment, according to the OSP. Harold Bickley was later flown by Cal-Ore Life Flight air ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg for treatment of serious injuries. Gloria Bickley’s injuries were considered minor.