Update (May 2, 2025): The driver of the pickup was indicted April 29 on multiple charges, including driving while intoxicated, two counts of first-degree manslaughter, three counts of second-degree assault, eight counts of third-degree assault and nine counts of recklessly endangering another person. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

Coos County, OR — April 18, 2025, Jami Strinz and Kiley Jones were killed and nine other people were injured in a bus accident at about 10 p.m. on State Route 42.

Authorities said a Chevrolet Silverado crashed head-on with a Chevrolet Express bus carrying the softball team from Umpqua Community College.

Bus driver and coach Jami Lea Strinz, 46, and passenger Kiley Neveah Jones, 19, died in the crash, according to authorities. Eight other people on the bus were hospitalized with injuries ranging from moderate to serious.

The pickup driver was seriously injured as well, authorities said. He is suspected of being impaired at the time of the crash.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Coos County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary

When a pickup truck crosses into oncoming traffic and strikes a bus carrying a college softball team — killing two and injuring nearly everyone else on board — the legal implications are clear and severe. Based on early reports from Coos County, this was a head-on crash likely caused by a suspected impaired driver. That fact alone frames the crash as an avoidable failure with far-reaching consequences.

State Route 42 is a two-lane road, and collisions like this often happen when one driver loses control, drifts across the center line or attempts a dangerous maneuver. If investigators confirm the pickup driver was under the influence, the legal system will treat this as a criminal act, not just a moment of inattention. Operating any vehicle while impaired is dangerous. Doing so on a rural highway at night — where reaction time is limited and visibility is poor — is a recipe for exactly the kind of outcome seen here.

In the end, no one expects to be in a head-on crash while riding a team bus. The families of those affected deserve clear answers, and accountability for a crash that, by every indication, should never have happened.