A Canby resident was killed and three other people critically injured when a man crashed a Tesla Model S into a utility pole on Highway 138E near Diamond Lake Wednesday night, Oregon State Police said.
The crash was reported at about 8:35 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 138E just north of Diamond Lake, which is located in Douglas County near Crater Lake National Park.
Initial reports said Howard Berry, 67, of Milwaukie, was speeding west on the highway when the black Tesla Model S he was driving went off the road and struck a utility pole.
Berry and two of his passengers, Richard Edlund, 67, of Milwaukie, and John Ruppert, 66, of Tigard, were transported to undisclosed hospitals by helicopter air ambulance.
A fourth passenger, identified as Koelby Edlund, 37, of Canby, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to his LinkedIn page, Edlund was a U.S. Navy veteran and a computer systems administrator for the State of Oregon for the past eight years.
Speed and alcohol use are being investigated as contributing factors in the crash, state police said.
Sources told the Current that the three older men were old friends who had gathered in the Diamond Lake area for an annual fishing trip and that Richard Edlund had invited his on, Koelby, to join in.
Reached Thursday evening, OSP could confirm only that the two Edlunds were father and son.
The highway was closed for 30 minutes while first responders and investigators worked the scene.
OSP was assisted by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Diamond Lake Volunteers, Air Reach, Pacific Power and ODOT.
