Crash kills Tribal member

A traffic crash on Highway 18 Sunday, June 15, took the life of Tribal member Joseph Nicholas Grammer, 50.

According to a press release from the Oregon State Police, Grammer was riding a Kawasaki ZX-18 motorcycle westbound on the highway when an eastbound Freightliner semi-truck and trailer turned left into a gravel lot in front of him. Grammer’s motorcycle struck the side of the truck, and he was declared dead at the scene.

The truck driver, 19-year-old Nikita P. Sukhodolov of Salem, was not injured. Deputies from the Polk County and Yamhill County Sheriffs’ offices responded to assist the state police for the three-hour crash scene investigation.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, according to the press release.