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The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., January 5, 1989, page 1

WRECK CLAIMS TWO CHILDREN

Two Trout Lake children died Saturday night west of Hood River when their vehicle left the freeway and collided with a truck-trailer parked beside the road.
The two cousins, Thaddeus and Nelson Johnson, were among six passengers in a 1986 Ford station-wagon driven by Lon Harmon Johnson, 43, of Trout Lake. All of the survivors suffered injuries, and were transported to hospitals in Portland and Hood River.
The accident occurred at 10:15 p.m. Saturday; the Johnson vehicle was eastbound on the I-84 freeway, according to senior trooper Doug Nielsen of the Oregon State Police office in The Dalles, when it left the roadway just east of Mitchell Point and struck the rear of a truck-trailer parked legally off the shoulder. (The trailer's tractor was not on the scene at the time, having been towed that morning for repair work. The transport was registered to John Hatfield Trucking of Alabama.) The injured family members included several cousins, brothers and sisters; they were Cecelie Johnson, 14, of Trout Lake, and Megan Johnson, 12, of Trout Lake; the two sisters were listed in serious condition Tuesday morning at Emanuel Hospital & Health Center in Portland; Nathaniel Johnson, 3, Trout Lake, was listed Tuesday in serious condition at the Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital in Portland, suffering from head and back injuries; and Genevieve Kay Johnson, 11, daughter of Kate Ferguson of Hood River, was listed in satisfactory condition and under observation Tuesday at Hood River Memorial Hospital having been upgraded from critical condition earlier.
The driver, Lon Johnson, was in fair condition with head and chest contusions at Oregon Health Sciences Hospital, and was tentatively scheduled for release Tuesday. Three Hood River city ambulances and a Buck ambulance from Portland helped transport the injured, as bad weather conditions between Hood River and Portland kept Lifelight Helicopter from traveling any farther east than Multnomah Falls; several of the ambulances transferred their patients to Lifelight at that point, although one of the Hood River ambulances took Cecelie Johnson to Emanuel Hospital.
Oregon State Police listed weather conditions at the accident site as clear, but the investigating officer could not be reached for additional comment regarding possible cause of the accident.
Lon Johnson is a Klickitat County Port District commissioner, and a founder of Celestial Seasonings, Inc., tea company of Boulder Colo. He's also the owner Trout Lake Farms, an herbal production and supply firm.
Services for Thaddeus Johnson, 9, and Nelson Travis Johnson, 5, are being handled through Anderson Funeral home, although neither a date nor place for the service had been established as of Tuesday afternoon. Nelson was the son of Travis Johnson of Silverton, Ore., and Shelley Johnson of Trout Lake; Thaddeus was the son of Lon Johnson and Kate Ferguson.

The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., January 12, 1989, page 12

THADDEUS JOHNSON

Thaddeus Johnson, a nine-year-old Trout Lake resident, died Dec. 31 on Interstate 84 west of Hood River in an auto accident.
The boy was born August 3, 1979, in Trout Lake to Lon Johnson and Kate Ferguson. He attended school in Trout Lake, where he was the in of the fourth grade. Thad was living with his father, Lon, and his step-mother, Martha Johnson, at the time of his death. While living in Hood River, he resided with his mother, Kate Ferguson, and step-father, James Holloway. He was a whiz with geography and math, and enjoyed soccer.
Thad is survived by his father, Lon, Trout lake, mother, Kate Ferguson, Hood River, brothers Adrian and Nate Johnson, both of Trout lake; sisters Genny Johnson and Elizabeth Holloway, both of Hood River, and Lena Johnson, Trout lake; grandmothers Mary Ferguson, Long Beach, Calif., and Sandra Walters, Sutter Creek, Calif.; and a great grandmother, Francis Gray, Phoenix, Ariz.
Services were held Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Trout Lake School, with the Rev. Gary Young officiating. A private family interment was held at Trout Lake Cemetery.
Memorials may be given to the Trout Lake School for playground equipment.

The Skamania County Pioneer, Stevenson, WA., January 11, 1989, page 3

YOUNG COUSINS ARE KILLED IN I-84 CAR-TRUCK WRECK

Two Trout Lake cousins were killed Saturday night, Dec. 31, when the car in which they were riding collided with a truck on I-84 near Mitchell Point, just west of Hood River. Five relatives of the boys were also injured, investigators said.
The victims were identified as Thaddeus johnson, 9, the son of Lon Johnson of Trout Lake and Kate Ferguson of Hood River, and Nelson Johnson, 5, the son of Travis Johnson of Silverton, Ore., and Shelley Johnson of Trout Lake. Lon Johnson, 43, is a Port of Klickitat County Commissioner.
The accident occurred when the car driven by the elder Johnson collided with a truck trailer that was allegedly parked illegally along the eastbound shoulder of the interstate near Mitchell Point.
The tractor portion of the semi rig had been towed earlier in the day for repairs and was registered to an Alabama trucking firm. The driver was not at the scene at the time of the accident which happened shortly after 10 p.m.
The injured family members included Lon Johnson, Nathaniel Johnson, 3; sisters Cecelie, 14, and Megan Johnson, 12 and cousin Genevieve, 11. The injured were transported to two Portland hospitals and a Hood River hospital for treatment.
Lon Johnson is one of the founders of Celestial Seasonings, Inc., a tea company, in Colorado and also owns Trout Lake Farms, a herbal production and supply company.
Oregon officials said the investigation is continuing.