September 19, 2009 in News, City

Two killed in head-on collision

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Two Lewiston residents died Saturday when their car collided head-on with another attempting a pass on State Route 127 seven miles south of Dusty, in Whitman County.

Ronald Gary West, 64, was the driver and Frances Mary West, 72, the passenger in a 2007 Toyota Camry. They were headed northbound around 11:30 a.m. when a southbound 2006 Chevy Trailblazer driven by Victor Jacob Marly pulled out to pass another vehicle, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The Wests died at the scene.

Marly, of Milton-Freewater, Ore., was airlifted to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he was listed in satisfactory condition. He will be charged with vehicular homicide for disregarding the safety of others.

10 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  jkh2000 on September 19 at 8:42 p.m.

  As one of the first medical people on the scene this was a senseless tragedy that could have been avoided. When will common sense driving be a required thing and not the invincible driving that we have seen today. The couple had no chance on the blind corner to avoid being hit. With double yellow lines you would think that a certain law that is in effect would have crossed your mind. This young man will pay for this the rest of his life for a moments lack of sense.

• 

  monkeyman on September 20 at 1:29 a.m.

  jkh2000, thank you for filling in some of the information missing in the story.

  When I originally read the article, I was trying to imagine as to what may have happened. I even looked up the map searching for the location mentioned. It seems that it may have happened on the curve where the SR-127 veers westbound.

  The story mentions that the SUV driver will be charged, but doesn’t give a reason (other than the fact about what happened to the people in the other car). Ignoring no passing zone on a blind curve is indeed one of the more dangerous things one can possibly do on the road.

• 

  Thedan on September 20 at 1:50 a.m.

  First off: My prayers go out to all of the families involved. I know how difficult it is to lose a loved one. I have also had the unfortunate experience in having a close friend be the driver in a similar accident. jkh2000… You state “This young man will have to pay for this…” I know first hand that when a driver is responsible for the accidental death of a person, they pay for it ways you can’t imagine; and that’s outside any legal ways. I’m certainly not saying that it’s ok what happened. My heart goes out to the surviving friends and family of the couple that lost their life. I just hope that we don’t lose sight that this was not intentional. I’m sure the driver who survived will be paying for this for the rest of his life regardless of what the judicial penalties are.

• 

  twobit on September 20 at 6:33 a.m.

  I must say this is a waste of life. Just yesterday a person from Idaho was heading home just south of the town of Mica their was a fuel tanker ahead of me and this person with plates that say ELKHNTR4 passed me on a double line and hill. It was just seconds that the person heading North did not die like these poor folks. But I am sorry that these people have to be in such a hurry to kill them selves or and some one else. If the couple in the north bound lane in this case would have started their trip about 5 seconds earlier they would have had a sad ending. This was on State Hi way 27. We all see these near misses and need to not be in such a hurry. My grandfather when ask about life as he was in his 90’s his reply was what was all the hurry about.

• 

  kasialynn on February 11 at 5:07 p.m.

  This couple who died in the crash were my Grandmother & Step Grandfather. What wonderful, smiling, loving, humorous, devoted, fantastic, healthy, vivacious, & exceptional people Fran & Ron West were. We were sadly informed that because Victor Marley has no prior criminal record, that the maximum sentence would be 41 months. He can also be charged restitution. Unfortunately he cannot be charged for stupidity. How about 20 years of volunteer service to Habitat for Humanity that Fran & Ron still had at LEAST 10 more years left as healthy active citizens who gave so much of themselves to their families & community. & Money could NEVER replace them! They are loved & they will always be in our hearts & memories. He must be held responsible & to pay for what he has taken so NEEDLESSLY from our lives. They lived & loved so deeply in so many different ways. Let him be forced to remember what a moment of stupidity has forced us all to loose from our lives. There ARE no excuse for stupidity. The Man pleaded INNOCENT. This was NOT an accident. It was marked NO PASSING + he crossed double yellow lines on a blind curve & they were NOT the only people he passed this way on this very day. Let us try to show him, & others that you do the crime you do the time. HE IS truly Guilty of this crime. I do not mean to be vindictive, I just feel justice must be served. I am not asking an eye for an eye. He will get out of jail & still have his family. I know everything has a reason for happening & that this is all a part of God’s Plan, but it doesn’t make what he did right. I love & miss you both very much. Thank you for all of the wonderful memories!!

• 

  justsaying on October 21 at 11:57 p.m.

  Well, I can understand kasialynn’s comment, the pain, the grief, the loss. I’ve felt it. But is sending a young man, a husband, a father of three small children to jail going to bring Fran & Ron West back? NO! He’s already suffering within himself more than most can imagine, so why must he go to jail and pay a huge fine too.

  Would Fran & Ron West want you to push the court system to throw the book at him and ruin his life and his family’s life? If they were the wonderful, loving, devoted and exceptional people you say they are, then I bet they would forgive him.

  He wasn’t driving down the road that day with the intentions of causing an ACCIDENT or hurting anyone, especially not causing a couple to die. He’ll have to find a way to cope with the guilt and pain he feels for what happened for the rest of his life. He did try to pass before the double yellow lines, but another driver is also to blame for not allowing him to move back over… It was a combination of actions that caused the accident! Not just his.

  I’ve only known this young man and his family for about six months, in this short time I’ve seen his true character. He does not deserve to be punished the way this family wants. He is an honest, good person. He is an asset to our community.

  I met him for the first time when he came to umpire my youngest son’s little league baseball game. I have four kids, so I’ve had many years of experience with umpires and coaches; many that I would prefer my children to not be around or associated with, so I was leery when Victor “Jake” came to umpire our first game. From the very first inning, I knew he had good character and was a good person. My son was asked to catch at the first game (w/o any practice) for the best pitcher in the league and Victor “Jake” was the umpire.This pitcher was throwing close to 90 MPH. In the first inning, my son ducked, instead of even trying to catch the ball. Jake took the pitch directly to his shoulder. After a short timeout to recover from the pain (just bent over taking deep breaths), he didn’t yell at my son for not trying to catch the ball; instead he asked my son if he was okay. My son said “yes, just scared”. Jake said me too. He continued to umpire the game and only gave my son understanding and encouragement. During the season, while my son was catching…Victor “Jake” did get hit by quite a few pitches and he continued to be generous with his time, baseball experience, and knowledge to help the kids with patience and kindness. He was even asked to help the all star baseball team. Since then, I’ve seen him coach peewee football also. He amazes me with the patience and attentiveness he gives all of our community kids.

  Since he & his wife have been gone for the trial, my son & I have visited with his three small kids. Spending time with their kids, it was totally obvious they have very loving, honest, thoughtful parents. Helping them with homework, reading, dinner, and grooming, the kids made comments like, “our Daddy reads to us every night”, “our Daddy helps us with homework”, “our Mommy does that with us”, etc.

  It breaks my heart that Fran & Ron West’s family and the court system thinks they will have any kind of justice or gratification from sending this devoted father and loving husband to prison or jail and/or paying a big fine. Making him and his family suffer will not bring back the lovely couple that passed away from the accident.

  Please reconsider your vindictiveness and ask the judge for leniency. The grief won’t go away if Victor “Jake” goes to jail. Only time and the grace of God will heal your pain.

• 

  aquariuz on October 25 at 10:34 a.m.

  So let me get this straight…just because this man did not wake up that morning and say “Today is the day im gonna kill someone” that makes what he did ok? Because he umpires children’s baseball it makes what he did “ok”? The facts are he did kill two people that day and you think just because he has a family his crime should go unpunished? He should’ve thought about his family before committing a crime.

  What if they had been your parents,grandparents,friends or loved ones? Could you honestly admit that you would not feel the same as the Wests family? Could you be so forgiving as you think everyone should be? Including our Judicial system? for without it there would be no deterrent for criminals.
  Could you sit by and watch the man who killed your love ones go to little league games…go on family vacations…attend weddings and family reunions? Call him a friend?

  I was raised to believe that one takes the responsibility for ones actions and in doing so you take the consequences that go along with those actions. I’m sure i’m not the only one raised in that fashion. Life is nothing but choices and that day Marly decided to drive the way he did…no one forced him. He decided to pass illegally…decided to take risks with his own life and the lives of others. If you had been riding with him that day would his driving be “ok” with you?

• 

  kasialynn on October 25 at 6:28 p.m.

  To JUSTSAYIN’s comment on October 21

  “Would Fran & Ron West want you to push the court system to throw the book at him and ruin his life and his family’s life? If they were the wonderful, loving, devoted and exceptional people you say they are, then I bet they would forgive him. ”

  Actually I can only speak for my Grandmother Fran because I have had conversations with her during her life about similar situations, but YES she would want the court system to hold “Jake” accountable for his actions on September 19th 2009. I also know that you can be forgiven for something, but still held accountable for what you did wrong. Unfortunately everyone suffers on both sides of the story including family members of all ages.

  Even good people make bad choices & have to suffer the consequences. I do not make any negative comments about his character. I hold the judicial system & a jury of peers to take ALL of the evidence gathered in the case & make a decision. I am hopeful that justice is served & people everywhere learn something from this situation.

  I have prayed everyday for Jake & his family since the very day of the accident & I have forgiven him & I believe that my Grandparents would have also. Although I can not speak for everyone in my family just for myself. I do not take this situation lightly at all. My heart aches as much today as the very day after the accident. Not just for me & my families loss, but also for Jake, his wife & children. They will get to see, talk to, write & someday in the not so far future will get to be reunited.

  I do not think for a moment that he intended for the accident, but it was determined by several drivers that day that he tried to pass multiple cars & was driving at high speeds for a long period of time & that it was not a one time thing. If you choose to try & pass cars then you have to heavily way the risks & be willing to take responsibility. You can either make the pass safely or you can not.

  If the situation were the exact same but flipped & Jake’s children died in the car accident & the driver of the other car was responsible I believe they would want justice, not revenge, which is what i am asking.

  So please know that I am praying for them & that I forgive Jake. I do not harbor negative thoughts or feelings of any kind. Yes my heart is sad & aches daily for my loss & I know that by Jake serving time in jail will never bring them back or even make me feel better, but it is what is right in the eyes of the law & I am held as accountable to the law as he is when I get behind the wheels of a car.

• 

  staceysuzanne on October 28 at 8:13 p.m.

  So everyone is asking our family to have leniency on Mr. Marley. Well im sorry but we can not ask for that because it is the judges hands but I completely agree that why should we let him walk and not server time for his actions!!!! I will not ask for that because it is not how this world works!!!

  You say that he is involded in his community….. Well so was my grandmother who was always giving her time for habitate for humanity and visitor center and going out of her way for anyone that needed her!!! My Grandmother was a wonderful and amazing person and never wanted to see a family hurt but she always believed in justice for every action!!!!

  You have to think of it this way…Mr. Marley will at least still be on this earth with his family and like Kasialynn said will be reunited in the future with his family!!! Fran and Ron never got to see there youngest grandson graduate from high school or ever meet there youngest great grandson!!!

  Yes you say that Mr. Marly was very active in his kids and little league teams well so was Fran who woud go and get involved in her yougest grandsons football games and then what about helping raise her grandson when her son in law was hurt in a bombing accident in Iraq and her daughter had to go he at his side!!!!

  You tell me that our family doesnt deserve Justice just like you and your family would!!!!

• 

  justsaying on November 18 at 10:54 a.m.

  I have been in similar situations to this accident. My brother was killed in a head-on collision when I was twelve. It happened two weeks before his 21st birthday. It was tragic. I still miss him and wonder how things would have been if that didn’t happen.

  My parents were critically injured and lives were never the same after a drunk and stoned teenage driver broadsided them going about 80 mph ignoring a stop sign. I was fifteen when this happened. I believe the accident contributed to them both dying younger than they would have due to their bodies being so damaged. (46 & 65).

  No one went to jail in either situation. Yes I think the drunk & stoned teenager deserved to have some kind of punishment for what he did (especially since this wasn’t his first accident or his last), but it didn’t happen and even if he had, it wouldn’t make me miss my parents any less.

  I was brought up the way it sounds like you were, people need to be responsible for their actions and pay the consequences. I believe in capital punishment, under certain circumstances, and I think it should happen swiftly and in the center of town. (Not 20-30 years later after the conviction and appeals)

  The point I’m trying to make is I’ve been in similar situations. I strongly feel that destroying the lives of Jake and his wife and small kids will not make your pain, grief, and loss go away! It might give you minimal satisfaction on the surface, but that’s all.

  Jake is the type of person who wants to do whatever punishment the family wants because he is a loving and caring man and feels horrible about the “accident”. I commend him for that. At the same time, I feel for his wife and three small kids and for the West’s family. Punishing this young man will not make the pain go away.

  Jake is the foundation of his family. He & his family have already suffered greatly for the time he’s already been in jail awaiting his sentencing.

  Because Jake has a conscience, he’s been suffering for more than a year since the “accident” happened. He will have to find a way to deal with the fact that he was involved in an accident that two people died. I’m hoping the driver of the car that wouldn’t let him move back over also has a conscience and is feeling guilt for what happened.

  Jake felt so bad, he didn’t tell his friends about it. If he had, the courtroom would have been full of Jake supporters.

  I feel Jake deserves leniency. The kind of person Jake is, he will be suffering within himself for the rest of his life. Every time he gets in his car to drive, he’ll remember the pain and suffering caused.

  If he was the type of person who doesn’t care about others and has no conscience…I’d be the first one to say “throw the book at him”.

  Jake is sensitive, loving, caring, and truly a giver. He deserves leniency and forgiveness. (Put yourself in his shoes)