Two memorial services will be held this week by the University to commemorate the lives of the two students who died in an automobile accident last Saturday.
The lives of Collin Phillip La More and Ellis Michael Heyer will be remembered at a smaller ceremony for close family and friends at the Wesley Center at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow and a second, larger ceremony is being planned for Friday at 12:30 p.m. at the Beall Concert Hall, said University Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Paul Shang.
Shang said details for both events are still being developed, as neither of the two students’ families have arrived in Eugene yet and as of yesterday afternoon had only spoken to the University by phone. According to a Facebook post on a memorial page for Heyer, a separate memorial service will be held in his hometown of Amherst, Mass., on Feb. 5.
La More and Heyer were both killed as a result of a crash that occurred Saturday morning just east of Oakridge on Highway 58 near Willamette Pass. The two were passengers in a vehicle driven by a third student, Nicholas Ries. Ries survived the incident and was transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the Oakridge Fire Department. As of Monday, he was no longer listed as a patient at this facility.
Previous reports said an off-duty Oakridge Fire Department officer was the first to respond to the scene of the accident and discovered Ries outside of the vehicle with Heyer and La More already deceased inside the vehicle. The 1987 BMW struck a tree on the eastbound lane on the side of the road.
However, Oakridge Fire Department Chief Tim Demers said the off-duty officer was actually a member of the Springfield Department of Fire and Life Safety who came upon the crash by coincidence. Emergency services were then contacted, and OFD was the first agency to respond. Oregon State Police has not identified the cause of the crash, but did describe conditions in the pass as being icy and foggy.
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Memorial services to be held for car accident victims
Daily Emerald
January 24, 2011
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