A Sunday evening drive on U.S. Highway 30 turned deadly near Rainier when a head-on collision killed a Scappoose man and left two other people hospitalized. The crash, which happened shortly after 7 p.m., shut down the highway for hours as first responders and troopers worked the scene and began piecing together how one vehicle ended up crossing the center line.
According to Oregon State Police, a gray Subaru Outback was traveling west near milepost 48 when it veered into the eastbound lane and slammed head-on into a red Ford Focus. The Ford’s driver, 62-year-old Randy Charles Bloom of Scappoose, died at the scene. His passenger, 59-year-old Shana Jean Bloom, was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. The Subaru’s driver, 69-year-old Ronald Craig Powers of Longview, Washington, was airlifted by Life Flight and remains hospitalized with serious injuries. Investigators say they are still working to determine why the Subaru crossed the center line.
Crash Response and Road Closures
FOX 12 reported the impact occurred just after 7 p.m., blocking U.S. 30 for roughly six hours while crash reconstruction teams documented the scene and crews cleared the wreckage. Rainier Police, the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia River Fire and Rescue and the Oregon Department of Transportation all responded. So far, troopers have not publicly identified a suspected cause, and the investigation remains active.
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