Oregon Tunnel Crash: Was Driver Holding Breath Due To Superstitious Game?
In an Oregon tunnel crash on Sunday, a three-car pile-up was caused when 19-year-old Daniel J. Calhon from Snohomish, Washington, fainted while holding his breath as he drove through the tunnel.
Calhon was driving with a friend in the afternoon hours on Sunday when, for some reason, he held his breath for more than a minute as he drove through the Highway 26 tunnel situated near the northwest Portland community of Manning.
A news release confirmed that Calhon’s car, a 1990 Toyota Camry, veered across the centerline in the tunnel and collided head-on with a Ford Explorer. Both of the vehicles struck the tunnel walls before a pickup truck hit the Camry.
Lucky for them Calhon and his 19-year-old passenger and friend, Bradley Meyring, of Edmonds, Washington, only suffered minor, non-life-threatening injuries, as did the passengers in the Explorer, 67-year-old Thomas Hatch Jr and 61-year-old Candace Hatch, both from Astoria.
It’s not clear at this moment whether or not Calhon has legal representation, but he will need it, as authorities have thrown the book at him. He has been charged with reckless driving, three counts of reckless endangerment, and fourth-degree assault by a Washington County Circuit Court.
On Monday State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings said he’s not sure why Calhon was holding his breath but believes it has something to do with some kind of superstitious game in which a driver holds his breath while driving through a tunnel.
Having done some research, the Inquisitr has found that holding one’s breath while driving or walking through a tunnel is something that some people do. Molly Mann from divinecaroline.com writes about the phenomenon.
She says:
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve held my breath going into a tunnel. I don’t know how I got the idea to start doing it; all I know is that it’s absolutely necessary to make a wish before entering the darkness, and then hold my breath all the way to the other end to ensure that my wish comes true.
