A teenager holding his breath while driving through an Oregon tunnel passed out behind the wheel Sunday and caused a three-car crash.
19-year-old Daniel Calhon was driving through a tunnel on Highway 28, holding his breath, when he fainted. Calhon, his passenger, and two people in another vehicle were taken to a Portland hospital with unknown injuries.
Calhon, of Snohomish, Washington, was driving a 1990 Toyota Camry with 19-year-old Bradley Meyring of Edmonds, Washington as his passenger near Manning, Oregon. For an unknown reason, Calhon decided to hold his breath while driving through a highway tunnel.
The pickup crossed the median and hit a 2013 Ford Explorer head-on. Both vehicles hit the walls of the tunnel, and a 1999 GMC pickup hit Calhon's vehicle.
67-year-old Thomas Hatch Jr. and 61-year-old Candace Hatch of Astoria, Oregon were inside the Explorer, and taken to St. Vincent Medical Center by ambulance. A hospital representative had no information on their condition.
Meyring was listed in serious condition, and no information was available on Calhon. The occupants of the GMC pickup were unharmed. Investigators do not believe drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.
Some people choose to test if they can hold their breath until they make it through the end of a tunnel, while others hold their breath through tunnels out of superstition.
Whatever Calhon's reason, Oregon State Police Lieutenant Gregg Hastings said that driving without breathing can be dangerous.
"Playing games while driving that are distracting can have tragic consequences and legal ramifications," Hastings told KGW-TV. "The tunnel is over 750-feet long and has little room for driving error."
"Don't play games on our roads. Travel safe!" the Oregon State Police tweeted Monday.
Calhon was charged with fourth-degree assault, three counts of reckless endangerment, and reckless driving in Washington County Circuit Court.
