1 man dead and 3 dogs injured in UTV accident along Hunter Road

UNION COUNTY – (Union County Sheriff’s Office release) One man is dead following a crash between a UTV and a vehicle on Hunter Road and Booth Lane outside of La Grande.

An accident involving personal injury was reported to the control center on Sunday at 7 p.m. When a Union County Sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene, he learned that the victim was driving his ATV near the intersection when he was struck by a vehicle. He died at the scene.

UCSO will not release his information because next of kin have not been notified. He didn’t live in the community.

No criminal proceedings will be initiated against the driver of the other vehicle.

The victim had three dogs in his UTV. They were injured in the accident. One was found and immediately taken to the animal health center. The other two dogs ran away. The emergency services tried to find the animals, but had to assist with the accident and concentrate on the victim.

Julia Boland, who was passing by the scene at the time of the accident, took on the task of helping search for the dogs.

Julia, her husband Brian and her sister Diana stopped to help where they could at the time of the accident.

“(My sister and) I went after the dog we saw running north,” Julia said.
One of the dogs remained at the scene of the accident and was injured. Julia and Diana immediately took the dog to the animal health center. They both returned to the scene to look for the other two dogs.

“We found it in the trailer where the victim lived,” said Julia, who also took the dog to the vet. Although they continued to search for the third dog, they could not find him. Finally, the vet clinic called Julia yesterday morning and told her they had found the third dog in the same trailer.

All three dogs were examined and given sedative medication. Marisa Vaughn, who works at the animal health clinic, said the dogs did not suffer any serious injuries and are currently tranquilized.

Thank you to the Island City Fire Department, La Grande Fire Department, Oregon State Police and La Grande Police Department for their assistance on this call.