Krystal E Raines Willhite

Krystal E Raines Willhite

August 4, 1985 - San Jose, California
August 8, 2002 - Crooked River Ranch

'Beloved Daughter, Sister, Friend'

Krystal Elizabeth Raines-Willhite of Crooked River Ranch died August 8, 2002 in an automobile accident. She was 17.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. today at the City Center Foursquare Church in Redmond.

Krystal was born Aug. 4, 1985, in San Jose, California. She moved to Crooked River Ranch in 1994.

She was a student at Redmond High School and a member of the honor society.

She was also in the Honor Choir at the high school. She was a peer lawyer for four years for Frank Ribich, Juvenile Services Program Director with the Redmond Police Department.

Krystal was affiliated with the City Center Foursquare Church and the church's U Turn Youth Ministries.

She worked at ShopKo in Bend.

Her survivors include:

Parents, Katherine and Jeff Raines of Crooked River Ranch

Father, Darryl Willhite of Nevada

Sister, Angelica Raines of Crooked River Ranch

Grandmothers, Dorothy Raines and Betty Smith both of San Jose and Viola Colbert of Sacramento, California.

Memorial contributions may be made to an account at the Redmond branch of U.S. Bank. Call 548-1071 for information.

Autumn Funerals is in charge of arrangements.

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Collision kills two at Bend intersection
By Tom Peterson - Bend Bulletin

Published: August 10. 2002

Two Central Oregonians died late Thursday night and two more were critically injured when the Honda Civic they were riding in ran a stop sign and was hit by a pickup in southeast Bend.

The driver of the Civic, Tonrell William Brooker, 22, of Redmond died at St. Charles Medical Center. Krystal E. Raines-Wilhite, 17, of Crooked River Ranch was pronounced dead at the scene.

Also injured were Brooker's three other passengers, Nicole Marie Hinds, 15, Rebecca Jo Griggs, 16, both of Redmond, and James Dean "JD" Robinson, 20, of Bend.

Hinds was in critical condition Friday evening with head and internal injuries. She also suffered multiple broken bones. Robinson was in serious condition with a broken pelvis, broken bones around his right eye and an injury to his right arm.

Griggs suffered cuts to her face and a broken nose. She was released from the hospital Friday morning.

Brooker had been drinking before the accident, according to the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office. Hinds' father, Mike, said hospital staff told him Brooker had a blood-alcohol content of 0.01 - well under the legal limit for drivers of 0.08 percent.

The sheriff's office sent a sample of Brooker's blood to the Oregon State Police crime lab, where it will be tested for alcohol and other drugs. Results are expected back in several weeks, said Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Patrol Capt. Tim Edwards.

Brooker was driving his 2,000-pound Civic hatchback west on China Hat Road at 11:17 p.m. when he failed to stop at the stop sign at Knott Road, authorities said.

As Brooker crossed the intersection, 33-year-old Neal Chavre of Bend and his 9-year-old daughter were driving south on Knott in a 7,500-pound Dodge Ram Diesel 4x4.

Chavre was unable to stop in time, and collided with Brooker. The driver's side of the pickup hit the passenger side of the Civic at about 40 to 45 mph, authorities said. Robinson was sitting in the front passenger seat, and Hinds was directly behind him.

An accident reconstruction team made up of officers from the Bend Police Department and Oregon State Police are still investigating the accident and have yet to determine the speed of the Civic.

Initial police reports, however, point out that Brooker was at fault for running the stop sign.

A good friend to the three injured girls said she was following Brooker just before the accident and stopped just seconds after it occurred.

"Their car was totaled, and no one in the car was talking," said Kim Mathiason, 17, of Crooked River Ranch. "Rebecca got out of the car and did not really know what was going on."

Dan MacCormack, 71, whose home is next to the intersection, said he was working on the Internet when he heard the collision.

"It sounded like an explosion. I heard a big bam, metal crunching and a girl screaming," he said. "It was bad news."

Deschutes County Sheriff's deputies were at the scene within three minutes, and firefighters soon followed.

Brooker and Hinds were transported via Air Life Helicopter to St. Charles. The three other passengers in the Honda were taken to the hospital via ambulance.

The Chavres suffered no significant injuries, according to police reports.

On Friday, relatives of Hinds and Robinson gathered in a waiting room outside the hospital's intensive care unit.

Hinds' mother, Carroll, only asked the community to pray for her daughter.

News of Raines-Wilhite's death stunned her friends and family. She had just celebrated her 17th birthday Sunday.

Her father, Jeffery Raines, described his daughter as "very determined, very outgoing."

She was also praised for her singing voice.

"She was robbed last night. She had a 3.9 grade point average," he said. "She was looking forward to being an attorney or a teacher.

"She was really looking forward to graduating early this year as a junior," he said. "We had colleges knocking left and right. She was really looking forward to moving up in the world and broadening her horizons."

Krystal belonged to the Redmond Teen Court and had been active in it for four or five years, her father said. A service for the teen will be held at a later date at the City Center Foursquare Church in Redmond.

Contributions can be made to cover Krystal's funeral costs to an account at the Redmond branch of U.S. Bank. For more information, call the bank at 548-1071.

Brooker moved to an apartment in Redmond several months ago from Washington, according to his neighbor, Laura Laszik. There is no record of him attending Redmond High School.

Hinds has been a cheerleader, on the dance team and loved to perform and sing, said Glenn Swearingen, Redmond High School choir teacher. Swearingen lives just two houses down from the Hindses.

"Oh, whenever Nicole's around, there's never a dull moment. That's the best way to put it. She's a live wire," he said, adding that she skipped a grade because she is so bright. She will be a junior this fall at Redmond High.

"I just hope Nicole pulls through and makes it here. Our prayers are with her," Swearingen said.

Griggs' mother, Holly, said her daughter came home from the hospital Friday.

"She's home, but she's in a lot of pain," Holly said Friday evening. "We're very grateful that she was wearing her seat belt."

James Robinson was a ninth-grader in the fall of 1996 at Redmond High for a while and then transferred to Baker City High School, according to Redmond High School Principal Dan Purple.

Neighbors living next to Knott and China Hat say the intersection is dangerous and has an inordinate amount of accidents. China Hat Road, however, is well marked with stop signs and has rumble strips to warn drivers of the upcoming stop at Knott Road.

Neighbors said a roundabout would slow traffic, limiting the danger. The Bend City Council and the Deschutes County Commission discussed the intersection during a joint meeting in January.

Bend Traffic Safety Coordinator Deborah Hogan said in January that crash rates were higher at the intersection than in other places along China Hat and Knott roads.

Statistics show public safety agencies have responded to 17 accidents at the intersection since 1996, including one fatality last year and eight injuries. The 911 dispatch center has received 41 calls about accidents there. And, Hogan said, it's likely not all accidents were reported.

Because of a curve and a dip, westbound cars on Knott can't see far enough ahead to the intersection, traffic engineer Robin Lewis said in January. If a roundabout were built, signs would warn drivers in time to slow down and navigate the circle. It could cost about $150,000, including $1,500 for design and study.

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Police report says Redmond man caused fatal car crash
By Tom Peterson - Bend Bulletin

Published: August 31. 2002

A Redmond man caused the Aug. 8 accident that killed himself and a teenager in southeast Bend, according to an Oregon State Police accident reconstruction report made public Friday.

Tonrell William Brooker, 22, of Redmond had four passengers in his 1983 Honda Civic while driving west on China Hat Road at 11:17 p.m. when he failed to stop at the stop sign at Knott Road and was hit by a 4x4 pickup, according to the report written by Senior OSP Trooper Joseph Craig.

"Brooker is singularly responsible for this collision, all vehicle damage, his own death and the death of Krystal (Willhite-) Raines, for failing to obey a traffic control device," Craig concluded.

Brooker and James Dean "JD" Robinson, 20, of Bend met with several people including Willhite-Raines, 17, of Crooked River Ranch, Nicole Hinds, 15, and Rebecca Jo Griggs, 16, both of Redmond at a Bend grocery store parking lot prior to the accident, according to witnesses interviewed after the accident.

The group then went searching for a party in the China Hat area in a caravan.

Willhite-Raines was driving her own car, and Hinds and Griggs were her passengers. At some time on Knott Road the girls decided to park the vehicle because it was low on gas, according to a witness. The three girls then climbed into the back seat of Brooker's Honda Civic.

"Witnesses stated that the Civic was traveling at a high rate of speed, 65-85 mph, and beer cans were being thrown from the vehicle. The witnesses observed the brake lights ‘flicker' for a second as (the Civic) ‘ran' the stop sign at an estimated speed of 65 mph."

As Brooker crossed the intersection, 33-year-old Neal Chavre of Bend and his 9-year-old daughter were driving south on Knott in a 6,800-pound Dodge Ram Diesel pickup. The driver's side of the pickup hit the passenger side of the Civic at about 44 mph, according to Craig's report.

Brooker had a blood-alcohol content of 0.014 percent, well below the legal maximum of 0.08 percent. Between five and seven beers were found in the Civic, Craig wrote.

Raines-Willhite was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Brooker died later at St. Charles Medical Center.

Hinds suffered broken bones, head and internal injuries. She remained in a coma in critical care at St. Charles on Friday.

Robinson suffered a broken pelvis, broken bones around his right eye and an injury to his right arm. He was discharged from St. Charles on Wednesday. Griggs was released from the hospital the day after the crash.