Armored truck security officer dies in accident www.privateofficer.com

Corvallis CA Nov 28 2010 A Corvallis man who was in the back of an armored truck when it rolled over Wednesday south of Monmouth has died of his injuries.

Joseph Michael Pablo Jr., 24, died Thursday. His body was released to McHenry Funeral Home in Corvallis. He had been in critical condition at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center following the wreck.

Pablo, who went by Michael, had been the rear passenger, or “jumper,” for the Loomis armored car, said his mother, Marti Morris of Corvallis. It is the jumper’s job to go from the back of the armored vehicle into the bank with the money and sign the paperwork. Pablo had worked for the company almost two years, she said.

The crash happened just before 8 a.m. Wednesday off Highway 99W about five miles south of Monmouth. The truck was headed south and veered off the right side of the road, hit a tree and rolled several times before coming to rest on its roof.

Oregon State Police cited the driver, James P. Russell, 22, from Carlton, for careless driving. The state office could not be reached Friday to learn if the charges would be amended in light of Pablo’s death.

His mother said that her son was proud to be an organ donor. She said she knows for sure his heart will be used for a transplant, and believes his lungs, liver, kidneys and eye tissue also will be made available.

“He picked Thanksgiving for a reason,” she said. “Michael was a special kid, and he was prepared.”

Pablo’s family includes a sister, Morgan Maldonado, in Portland; a sister, Stephanie Pablo, in Corvallis; and a brother, Andrew Morris, in Corvallis.

He graduated in 2005 from Titusville High School in Titusville, Fla.

Marti Morris said a service for extended family is planned Dec. 3 in Bellingham, Wash., and an open house memorial service is planned Dec. 11 in Corvallis.

“He had a lot of friends, and a lot of friends who counted on him. He was there when anybody asked him for anything,” his mother said. He was just 24, “but wise beyond his years, that’s for sure.”

Morris said she didn’t know whether her son encouraged others to become organ donors, but that other family members are.

“We are wanting everybody to,” she said.