Man holding breath in tunnel caused crash

Police have arrested a 19-year-old Washington state man who held his breath while driving through a tunnel in Oregon and fainted, causing a three-vehicle crash that injured four people on Sunday afternoon.



The crash in a tunnel on U.S. 26 west of Manning happened at about 4:45pm. Oregon State Police said that Daniel J. Calhon, 19, of Snohomish, was driving a Toyota Camry when he told police he decided to hold his breath entering a tunnel. He fainted, causing the Camry to cross the centre-line.

The Camry collided head-on with a Ford Explorer. Both vehicles then smashed into the interior tunnel walls and a third vehicle, a GMC pick-up, hit the Camry. Calhon and his passenger, Bradley Meyring, 19, of Edmonds, Washington, were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Portland.



The Ford Explorer's driver and his passenger, both of Astoria, were also hospitalised. The two people in the pick-up were not injured. Police cited Calhon for fourth-degree assault, reckless driving and three counts of reckless endangering. The accident closed the tunnel for two hours.