Newlyweds Killed in Horrific Crash After Colliding with Jackknifed Vehicle on Way Back from Honeymoon

A young Oregon couple was killed when their car crashed into a jackknifed commercial vehicle while they were driving home from their honeymoon, authorities said.

On Nov. 25, William Micah Carter, 25, and his wife, Jennifer Lynn Lower, 24, were involved in a two-vehicle collision on Highway 20 in Deschutes County, according to the Oregon State Police.

Investigators said a commercial motor vehicle and trailer driven by 32-year-old Rajinder Kumar had come to a stop in a jackknifed position across the highway, blocking both lanes of traffic.

Carter was heading west in a Subaru Outback around 9:30 p.m. when the vehicle struck the trailer at highway speeds as it sat perpendicular to the roadway, authorities said.

Oregon State Police noted that darkness and the absence of active emergency warning equipment were key contributing factors to the crash. The highway was shut down for roughly seven hours during the investigation, and Carter and Lower were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Lower’s father, Tom Lower, told The Bulletin that the couple had been married just 16 days. They wed on Nov. 8, spent their honeymoon at Disneyland, and were returning to Salem, where they planned to build their life together.

Kumar was not injured in the crash. He was arrested on charges of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment and booked into the Deschutes County Jail, according to Oregon State Police.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security later reported that Kumar is the subject of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer, alleging he is in the country illegally after entering at the Arizona border about three years ago.

Deschutes County Judge Randy Miller granted a prosecutor’s request to raise Kumar’s bail from $100,000 to $250,000, according to KTVZ.

Deputy District Attorney Caleb Staats also asked that Kumar be barred from leaving the state, telling the grand jury that “we do anticipate more serious charges being brought,” per the outlet.

“This is a terrible tragedy, and we wish to see justice served,” Lower’s father told the judge, according to the outlet.