Dallas man had blood-alcohol seven times legal limit in crash that killed Silverton teen

A driver responsible for a September 2017 fatal crash north of Monmouth that left two dead had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.57 percent, more than seven times the legal limit, authorities said Tuesday.

Authorities determined Jacob Bailey, 24, of Dallas, was at fault for the crash on Riddell Road close to Whiteaker Road.

His Acura had crossed the center line and slammed into a Volvo driven by Elizabeth Hoke, 18, of Silverton. Both of them died. An investigation closed the road for about six hours.

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"We just received the toxicology report from the Oregon State Police crime lab," Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton said Tuesday. "(I've) only seen a couple BACs that high in my career."

A blood-alcohol concentration of between 0.31 percent and 0.45 percent is considered life-threatening, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

A person can lose consciousness, alcohol poisoning can become life-threatening and there is a "significant risk of death in most drinkers due to suppression of vital life functions," according to the institute.

Hoke was preparing to start classes at Western Oregon University in Monmouth when she died. In the wake of Hoke's death, her family set up a memorial trust in her name with multiple scholarships.

Email jbach@statesmanjournal.com, call (503) 399-6714 or follow on Twitter @jonathanmbach.