Charges studied in crash death of depot National Guardsman

This story was published Fri, Sep 13, 2002

By Karen Zacharias
Herald Oregon bureau

UMATILLA -- Michael Perkins had almost completed training to become a Texas Highway patrolman when he got orders to the Umatilla Chemical Depot in August.

Umatilla was the last place his parents, David and Tricia Perkins, of Nacogdoches, Texas, expected their son, an active duty National Guard soldier, to die.

Michael Perkins, 23, was killed in a motor vehicle crash at 1:59 a.m., last Saturday. Umatilla Police Chief Travis Eynon said the vehicle rolled over an embankment just south of the Interstate 82 bridge over the Columbia River. Two Umatilla police officers watched as the vehicle dropped onto Highway 730. Eynon said the officers had pulled over another motorist.

Michael Perkins was reportedly not wearing a seat belt. He was ejected from the car and died at the scene.

Umatilla County District Attorney Chris Brauer said Thursday that a grand jury will consider manslaughter charges against the vehicle's driver, Adam Herrera, 23, of Woodland, Texas. Preliminary reports indicate Herrera had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit. Herrera was flown to Portland's Emanuel Hospital where he remains in fair condition, a hospital supervisor said.

A third passenger, Phillip Cretchfield, 23, was treated at Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston and later released. Cretchfield and Herrera were reportedly wearing seat belts. Cretchfield and Herrera also were National Guardsmen stationed at the depot.

Tricia Perkins said in a phone interview that Herrera and her son were friends. The two had traveled together to Umatilla.

"This was just a dreadful, terrible accident that has hurt a lot of people," Tricia Perkins said. She added that Thursday's funeral procession in Nacogdoches stretched five miles.

Michael Perkins previously had spent eight months in Bosnia.

"We thought, 'Yeah! He's going to Oregon! He'll be safe,' " Tricia Perkins said. "Michael loved to hunt and fish. He thought it (Umatilla) was terrific. He called me a week ago, on my birthday, and told me he was learning to fly-fish."

Thursday's service was a tribute to his life.

"Michael was a true soldier," Tricia Perkins said. "The reason he was at Umatilla was as a result of 9/11."

National Guard units have been providing security at the depot since the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, 2001. Mary Binder, Army spokeswoman, said the accident has been upsetting for everyone at the depot. "We don't want anybody killed under any circumstances," Binder said. "Safety is our primary concern."

Binder said Army chaplains and Family Support Services have been counseling National Guard soldiers since the accident.

"Any accident makes us all stop and think how precious life is," Binder said.

Michaeal Perkins is also survived by three brothers and one sister.

 

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