A 19-year-old man caused a 3-auto crash when he fainted even though holding his breath as he drove via a tunnel northwest of Portland, Oregon State Police said.
Daniel J. Calhon, of Snohomish, Washington, told investigators he fainted Sunday afternoon while holding his breath in the Highway 26 tunnel close to the neighborhood of Manning, according to a news release. His vehicle, a 1990 Toyota Camry, drifted across the centerline and crashed head-on with a Ford Explorer.
Both automobiles struck the tunnel walls just before a pickup hit the Camry.
Calhon and his passenger, 19-year-old Bradley Meyring, of Edmonds, Washington, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, as did the 2 men and women in the Explorer: Thomas Hatch Jr., 67, and Candace Hatch, 61, from Astoria. All 4 had been taken to hospitals.
The 2 men and women in the pickup were not hurt.
Calhon was cited for reckless driving, 3 counts of reckless endangerment and 4th-degree assault in Washington County Circuit Court. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.
State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings mentioned Monday he’s not sure why Calhon was holding his breath, but some men and women hold their breaths in tunnels as part of a game or superstition.
The tunnel, known as the Dennis L. Edwards Tunnel, was completed in 1940 and carries the highway by means of the Northern Oregon Coast Range mountains. It’s 772 feet long, meaning that a automobile traveling at the posted speed limit of 55 mph would get by way of it in about 10 seconds.
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Oregon Crashed Caused by Man Holding Breath in Tunnel
