A driver wanted for a parole violation tried to get away from a police pursuit in Albany Tuesday but ended up crashing his car and fatally injuring one of his passengers.

Police were chasing a 1985 BMW 325E at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday when it struck a 1995 Ford Mustang on Waverly Drive near Grand Prairie Road.

Lt. Mark Cotter of the Oregon State Police office in Albany, the lead investigating unit, identified the persons in the car that was chased:

• Terez Marguerite Jackson, 35, was taken to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, where she died about 4:30 p.m.

• Lynn David Adams, 36, of Albany, the driver of the car being chased, was in fair condition this morning at the Corvallis hospital.

• Robert Duane McElroy, 36, of Albany was taken to Samaritan Albany General Hospital and later transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, where he was in serious condition this morning.

• Another passenger, Tara Shea Soto, 37, was in critical condition this morning at the Eugene hospital, where she was airlifted by REACH air ambulance.

The driver of the Mustang, Cassandra Jean Ruark, 18, of Albany, was treated and released at Albany General.

Cotter described what happened:

Albany police officer Dezi Meza attempted to stop the BMW about 1:25 p.m. for erratic driving and speeding on Highway 20 at Burkhart Street. The driver would not stop and sped off, Cotter said.

Just past the Grand Prairie intersection on Waverly, Adams lost control of the BMW. The car crossed the center line and crashed into the front of the northbound 1995 Ford Mustang driven by Ruark.

The BMW rolled several times, coming to rest on its wheels in a crumpled heap 50 feet off of the street near Periwinkle Creek.

The three passengers in the BMW, Jackson, McElroy and Soto, were not wearing seat belts, Cotter said, and were ejected.

After the crash, Albany and state police, Albany firefighters and paramedics and Lebanon and Corvallis paramedics descended on the scene with emergency lights flashing and sires blaring.

A shortage of paramedics required that Albany's Fire Chief Kevin Kreitman ride in one of the ambulances going to Corvallis.

Vic Lyme and Bill Kirkpatrick of NW Natural were installing service to a nearby house when they heard a crash.

"I turned around and I saw the BMW flipping over, maybe three to five feet off of the ground, and then I saw a passenger ejected, maybe 10 feet into the air," Lyme said.

Dwight Butler, who lives in the 2500 block of Waverly Drive, said he saw the BMW and a police car speed by his house.

"I heard the chase on the scanner and so I ran outside," he said. "I think the police car was about five car lengths behind the BMW. When they passed by my house I thought they are never going to make it through the light in time (at Grand Prairie)."

The activity at the park drew a crowd. Some people switched on their cell phones to take photographs of the smashed BMW. Others trained their phones on the red air ambulance as it lifted off a grassy area in the park, heading for Eugene.

Still others crowded up to yellow police tape, trying to get as close a look as possible.

Albany fire spokeswoman Wanda Omdahl said that a registered nurse living nearby heard the crash and came out to help.

"We really needed her because you come in and it's total chaos, and it was great to have her talk and calm the driver of the Mustang," she said. "The nurse stayed with her until firefighters could cut her out of her car."

The BMW, which smashed a yellow duck-crossing sign and bent barriers at Periwinkle Creek, came to rest so close to the water that the Linn County Sheriff's Office dive team checked to be sure no one was in the water.

Assisting with the investigation are police officers from Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home.

Results will be forwarded to the Linn County District Attorney's Office for a decision on whether to file criminal charges.

Waverly Drive was closed for about five hours Tuesday from Grand Prairie to 34th Avenue so investigators could do their job.