Lynnwood woman among nine dead in Oregon bus crash

PORTLAND, Ore. — Police released the names of three other victims of the Sunday bus crash on I-84 in Eastern Oregon. Nine people died, including a woman from Washington and a Korean couple who had been staying with relatives in Washington.

They were identified as Yongho Lee, 75, of Lynnwood, Oun Hong Jung, 67, of South Korea and his wife, Joong Wha Kim, 63.

Authorities said an 11-year-old girl from South Korea was among those killed.

Oregon State Police officials identified the girl Wednesday as Youmin Kim, who was visiting relatives in British Columbia before the nine-day bus tour of the western United States.

Authorities earlier said 57-year-old Dale Osborn of Spanaway died in the crash.

The crash occurred as the bus was returning to Vancouver, B.C., on the final leg of the vacation tour.

Vice Consul Chul Ho Choi, who went to Pendleton, Ore., from Seattle to help authorities with translations and to notify relatives, said five of the victims were South Korean citizens.

Another 38 people were injured, including driver Haeng Kyu Hwang, 54, of Vancouver, B.C.

At least 10 people remained hospitalized Wednesday afternoon at facilities stretching from Boise, Idaho, to Portland, Ore.

State troopers have been going to hospitals with photographs of unclaimed property, including purses and luggage, in an effort to return items found at the scene.

The cause of the crash has yet to be released, and police have said it could take a month or more to determine whether the driver was at fault.

The investigative team includes police and three National Transportation Safety Board inspectors.

The crash occurred near a spot on the interstate called Deadman Pass, at the top of a steep, 7-mile descent from the Blue Mountains. There were icy spots, but nothing unusual for this time of year.

“The crash happened on a pretty straight stretch before they headed down the hill,” said Tom Strandberg, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation.

The posted speed limit is 55 mph for trucks and buses and 65 mph for cars. Drivers, however, are required to go slower in treacherous conditions.

Despite its foreboding name — coined in pioneer times long before the automobile — the pass had not been deadly in the 21st century.

In the past 10 years, there had been 59 accidents, but no deaths, on that stretch of highway, Strandberg said.

Transportation Department records show Sunday’s crash to be the state’s deadliest since a two-car collision in Portland killed nine in October 1971.

Six years before that, a Greyhound bus lost control on an icy section of I-5 in southwest Oregon.

The Christmas Eve crash killed 14 people.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.