Truck runs over and kills toddler in stroller

February 1, 2010

TANGENT, Ore. - A commercial truck hit and killed a child in a jogging stroller on Highway 99E, between Corvallis and Lebanon.

The accident happened at about 10 a.m. Monday, near the intersections of Highway 99E and Old Highway 34 - near Tangent, west of I-5.

Police say 35-year-old Courtney Ayer was pushing her son's stroller while she jogged southward, in the northbound sidewalk. She came to a stop on the northeast corner of the intersection, still on the sidewalk, when the Freightliner truck driven by 37-year-old Marcus Coulter of Lebanon, ran into the stroller, killing her 2-and-a-half-year-old son, Dillon.

Courtney Ayer suffered minor injuries. Coulter, the truck driver, was not injured. It appears he had come to a stop, then attempted to turn right from Highway 34 onto 99E when his truck ran up onto the sidewalk and into the stroller.

The stroller and the little boy ended up in the northbound lanes of 99E, which were closed for a couple of hours while police, rescue, and highway crews processed the scene.

The northbound lanes of Highway 99E were closed while police, rescue and highway crews processed the scene. Those lanes re-opened by mid-afternoon.

The Linn County Medical Examiner are assisting along with officers from Linn County Sheriff's Office, Albany Police Department, Lebanon Police Department, and Sweet Home Police Department.

Tangent Rural Fire Protection District and ODOT also responded and assisted at the scene.  Traffic was coordinated through the area and was able to get through in both directions on Highway 99E during the investigation.

Investigators at the scene were working to determine the position of the pedestrians and truck relative to traffic signals at the time of the accident.