A 59-year-old Pendleton man died in a two-car crash Thursday at the intersection of Second and A streets in Baker City, one of several intersections in that neighborhood that lack stop signs.

Ronald R. Fisher died at the scene of the crash, which happened at 11:56 a.m., according to Oregon State Police.

Fisher was driving south on Second Street when his 2015 Chevrolet Equinox SUV was hit on the driver’s side by a 2002 Dodge Stratus driven by Yvonne N. Hesseltine, 59, of Baker City, police said.

Hesseltine was driving west on A Street.

According to Oregon traffic law, Fisher had the right of way at the intersection unless he was exceeding the speed limit of 25 mph.

The force of the collision caused Fisher’s vehicle to flip onto its top. He was ejected from the vehicle in the crash.

The Stratus weighs approximately 3,200 pounds, and the Equinox approximately 3,800 to 3,900 pounds, according to their manufacturers’ estimates.

Police believe Fisher was not wearing a seat belt.

“This is a reminder of the importance of seat belts,” Baker City Police Chief Wyn Lohner said. “Even in low-speed driving in cities, it is important.

“Indications at the scene were that if the seat belt would have been used correctly, most likely it would have saved his life,” Lohner said.

Hesseltine’s passenger, Raisan C. Hesseltine, 40, of Baker City, was taken to St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City and treated for minor injuries. Yvonne Hesseltine was not hurt, police said.

The intersection was closed for about four hours as the investigation was conducted and the wreckage removed.

About half of Baker City’s intersections are uncontrolled, Tom Fisk, Public Works operations supervisor, said today. Figures from 2000, the latest available, showed that there were 343 stop signs on city streets at that time.

Lohner said that although the number of uncontrolled intersections outnumbers controlled intersections, there are far more crashes at controlled intersections.

Lohner attributes those statistics to driver attentiveness at uncontrolled intersections.

See more in the Aug. 5, 2016, issue of the Baker City Herald.