On Friday March 9th, 2018, at approximately 7:50 AM, Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded to the report of a head-on crash involving two vehicles on Highway 47 near milepost 63, which is just outside the town of Vernonia, in Columbia County. The Troopers investigation has determined that a Nissan passenger car was traveling north on Highway 47, when for unknown reasons the Nissan crossed the double yellow lines and crashed head-on into a 1996 Ford F350. The operator and sole occupant of the Nissan was pronounced deceased on scene by medical personnel. The operator of the Ford truck, 31 year old David WELLER of Vernonia, was not injured and alone in the truck. Investigators are attempting to locate the family of the operator of the Nissan.
