Sheriff’s office: Ashland man was driving to hospital when he ran into fire engine on Dead Indian Memorial Road
Ashland.news staff report
Juan Jose Castro, 31, of Ashland has been identified as the man who died on Dead Indian Memorial Road early Sunday after his 1992 Subaru Legacy went out of its lane and ran head-on into a Jackson County Fire District 5 fire truck responding to reports of a domestic violence incident at a party further up the road, according to additional information released Monday afternoon by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim, a woman, suffered a gunshot wound and then additional injuries in the crash while Castro was driving at a high rate of speed on the way to the hospital, investigators report. She is in stable condition after undergoing surgery at a local hospital.
The woman had been attempting to leave the scene of the party in a vehicle when she was shot by Castro at close range, the report says. Castro then attempted to drive her to the hospital, but died as firefighters attempted to extricate him from the car.
Investigators say the Subaru was traveling “well in excess” of the 55 mph speed limit — fast enough to move the 35,000-pound fire truck and its load of 400 gallons of water on impact.
Original story:
A domestic violence shooting suspect died early Sunday after crashing head-on into a responding fire truck near mile marker 2 on Dead Indian Memorial Road east of Ashland.
The domestic violence victim was injured during the crash and was transported to a local hospital, according to a news release Sunday afternoon from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. No first responders were seriously injured.
The suspect, whose identity is not being released pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a shots-fired domestic violence call early Sunday in the 8000 block of Dead Indian Memorial Road, according to the release. Emergency dispatchers received the 911 call at 4:39 a.m. during a house party at the residence, authorities said.
The caller reported overhearing an argument followed by gun shots and the suspect and victim leaving the residence in a vehicle at a high rate of speed toward Ashland, according to the report.
This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times. Email Ashland.news at news@ashland.news.
Oct. 30: Story updated.
