Van Collides With Fire Truck, Killing Two

Tue., July 9, 1996

Compiled From Wire Services

Two members of a church group from Washington state visiting the Oregon Coast were killed after their van collided head-on with a fire truck on Oregon Highway 42 west of the city.

It appeared the van was trying to catch up with another van in the group Sunday afternoon when it pulled into the westbound lane to pass another vehicle, said the Douglas County Sheriff’s office. The van crashed head-on into the fire truck.

A passenger in the van, Julie Lahmeyer, 37, of Auburn, Wash., was killed instantly. Another passenger, Jane Campbell, 20, of Glasgow, Scotland, died later at a Roseburg hospital.

Lahmeyer’s husband, the Rev. Van Lahmeyer, 40, who was driving the van, and two other passengers, Rachel Ashley, 20, of Yakima, and Tara Riddle, 37, of Spokane, were injured. They were taken to Mercy Hospital in Roseburg.

Lahmeyer was in fair condition, Riddle was in stable condition and Ashley was in critical condition Monday.

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