Two killed in rollover accident on River Road

Two men were killed in a single-vehicle rollover crash on River Road just south of Thistledown Farm, the Lane County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Luke William Hankinson, 43, of Junction City, and Christopher Louis Conkling, 26, of Harrisburg, died about 4:30 a.m. Saturday in a crash the sheriff’s office said probably was caused by excessive speed and alcohol consumption.

Hankinson was driving a mid-1990s Chevrolet Camaro south on River Road when the car rolled near Luckey Lane, a mile or so north of Eugene’s Santa Clara neighborhood, the sheriff’s office said. A resident reported hearing a loud “thump” and went out to investigate. Santa Clara Fire personnel found Hankinson’s body in a nearby field, the sheriff’s office said.

Conkling was found in the vehicle’s passenger seat.

Lane County sheriff’s Sgt. Gordon Gill said the vehicle was traveling “well above the legal limit” in a 55 mph zone when the crash occurred. Hankinson was not wearing a seat belt and was found about 120 feet from where the car was found in a field on the west side of the road, Gill said.

The Camaro was so damaged, Gill said, “I could hardly tell what it was.”

The nine-mile stretch of River Road between Eugene and Junction City has been the scene of several car crashes, some fatal, over the years, including the death of a 26-year-old Springfield woman on Dec. 6. Morgan Tara Marie Smither also was killed in a one-vehicle rollover crash that involved speeding about five miles north of where Saturday’s crash happened.

“It’s a long, open stretch … so people sometimes treat it as a playground,” Gill said.

Broken glass still littered the field where the crash happened on Saturday afternoon. All that was left was the glass and a small pile of broken pieces of blue car, red reflector lights and a couple of red roses.

Nearby, along the roadway, someone had already placed two small crosses adorned by colorful bouquets of flowers.

River Road was closed in both directions for about four hours after the crash, Gill said. Evidence at the scene indicated alcohol was involved in the crash, but he would not elaborate on what that evidence was.