>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

ENTERPRISE — Details are sketchy on two motor vehicle crashes that left three people dead in Wallowa County Wednesday.

One victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin. The two men killed in the other accident were both from western Oregon.

At 4 p.m. a report was received of a single-vehicle rollover on Crow Creek Road some 23 miles northeast of Enterprise. The location is 15 miles north of Zumwalt Road and about two miles from  Charlois Road.

A pickup driven by an elderly man from Enterprise was travelling northbound when it crossed the road, left the roadway and rolled into Crow Creek on the driver’s side. The driver was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene, Wallowa County Sheriff Fred Steen said.

The Enterprise Fire Department and ambulance and Wallowa County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene.

At 5:36 p.m. a report was received of a vehicle crash on the Hat Point Road four miles from the town of Imnaha.

A pickup with two occupants left the road on a steep hillside coming to rest 1,500 feet below.

Both men were ejected. One was pronounced dead at the scene. The other was flown out by air ambulance but he became critical on board and the flight was diverted to Enterprise. The man was taken to Wallowa Memorial Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries, Steen said.

The victims were Edward R. Beisley, 68, of Scappoose and Charles E. Beisley, 56, of St. Helens.

The Enterprise Ambulance, the Joseph Fire Department, sheriff’s deputies and the Wallowa County Search and Rescue also responded to the scene.

The crashes are under investigation by the sheriff’s office, which is being assisted by the Oregon State Police reconstruction unit.