Medical officials have confirmed that the man whose SUV crashed over the Glenn Jackson Bridge on Valentine’s Day was 57-year-old Antonio Lopez-Amaro. The traffic accident ultimately resulted in Lopez-Amaro’s death.
The father, grandfather and husband, left his family’s restaurant in Hazel Dell, Washington, at about 5 p.m. Sunday and was driving over the Columbia River when his Subaru somehow jumped the bridge barrier and landed in the water.
Police are still investigating the cause of the crash but an extended family member has said witnesses reported Lopez-Amaro losing control because of a sheet of ice and that a snowplow had created an embankment that allowed his car to drive up and over the edge.
Don Hamilton with the Oregon Department of Transportation said plow drivers try to keep roads as safe as possible during winter storms.
“That means that we’re trying to keep the lanes clear. And that means that any time there’s a snow event, we understand that the drivers are driving as safely as they can,” Hamilton said.
The Portland Police Bureau’s Major Crash Team investigators believe weather-related road conditions were a factor.
Lopez-Amaro’s family has been notified. The vehicle was confirmed by license plate to be his 2006 Subaru Tribeca. Plans are underway to recover it from the river.
Poor weather conditions meant crews spent several days trying to find the vehicle and Lopez Amaro’s body.
Anyone with information about this crash is asked to contact Portland Police Officer Garrett Dow at Garrett.Dow@portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-5070.