One motorcyclist killed, another seriously injured in Highway 126 crash

A left turn into a mobile home park near Rose Hill Road turned Highway 126 into a fatal chain reaction Sunday afternoon, killing Florence motorcyclist Brandon Taylor Oetken and seriously injuring another rider after a three-vehicle crash near milepost 2.7.

Oregon State Police said troopers responded at 1:54 p.m. and found a white Volvo 240 driven by 50-year-old Lorna Marie Trujillo of Florence had slowed to turn left. A green Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail ridden by Oetken struck the rear of the car, throwing him from the motorcycle. A second motorcycle, a white Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic driven by 65-year-old John Carlos Moreno of Florence, then hit the back of the green motorcycle, forcing Moreno to lose control and lay the bike down.

Police said Oetken died at the scene. Moreno was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, and Trujillo was also taken to a hospital as a precaution after reporting pain complaints. Oregon State Police said the white Harley-Davidson slid about 150 feet before coming to a stop. Good Samaritans stopped to render aid to the two riders before emergency crews arrived.

The crash tied up the highway for about an hour while troopers investigated and agencies responded from across the coast and valley corridor. Western Lane Fire and Rescue, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Florence Police Department, the Lane County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Oregon Department of Transportation all assisted at the scene.

The wreck unfolded on a stretch of road ODOT has already flagged as a concern. OR 126 East, also known as McKenzie Highway, is a 66-mile rural two-lane route connecting the Eugene-Springfield area to U.S. 20 in Linn County. ODOT and Lane County began a safety study in August 2022 and completed it in January 2024 after identifying several fatal and serious-injury crashes between 2016 and 2020, many at driveways or minor streets.

That history matters because Highway 126 is not just a travel corridor, it is one of Lane County’s higher-risk roads for drivers and motorcyclists alike. ODOT says Oregon recorded 603 traffic deaths in 2022, including 342 on state roads and 261 on local roads, a reminder that a single turning movement can become a deadly event when speed, traffic, and motorcycles meet on a two-lane highway.