Sauvie Island crash that killed teen happened after underage drinking on school board member’s property, parent says

A

fatal UTV crash on Sauvie Island last month

was preceded by underage drinking at a get-together on property owned by Scappoose School Board Vice Chair Branda Jurasek, according to the father of the 17-year-old girl who died.

Ava Crews was found dead around 12:40 a.m. on May 18 after a Polaris “side-by-side” utility terrain vehicle in which she was riding flipped in a field in the 14900 block of Northwest Gillihan Road, authorities have said. The alleged driver, Ayden Heard, has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.

Before the crash, a group of 16- to 18-year-olds had been drinking alcohol in a barn to celebrate finishing final exams, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in Heard’s case.

Crews, 18-year-old Heard and a third person “then drove in the Polaris around the properties,” with Heard driving, according to the affidavit. Heard made an abrupt turn, overturning the vehicle, the affidavit says. The crash killed Crews, a Scappoose High School student. Heard admitted to a deputy that he had drunk one shot of vodka and two beers within the hour preceding the crash, according to the affidavit.

Ava Crews’ father, Ryan Crews, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the gathering before the crash occurred on the property of Jurasek, 56, and her husband Matthew Dierdorff. Jurasek was first elected to the school board in 2019 and was reelected in 2023, both times running unopposed. Her current term ends in 2027.

Ava Crews, 17, died after the UTV she was riding in May 18, 2025, flipped. She was a Scappoose High School student.

Courtesy of family

It remains unclear whether Jurasek or Dierdorff were aware of the get-together. It also isn’t known how the minors obtained the alcohol or whether Jurasek or Dierdorff are under investigation in the case. The couple’s son attends Scappoose High School.

The property has a history of high schoolers drinking alcohol and riding “dangerous vehicles” on it, the deputy district attorney prosecuting the case against Heard said last month.

“There is some deep concerns that the location [where] this happened — these high schoolers do frequent [the property] and consume alcohol and ride these dangerous vehicles, and that this could have been a very preventable situation, and that the warning signs were all there,” Deputy District Attorney Mackenzie Ludwig said at Heard’s arraignment.

Jurasek did not respond to repeated attempts to contact her. Reached by phone, Dierdorff would not confirm or deny that the teen gathering took place on his and Jurasek’s property.

When asked if Jurasek was aware of the get-together when it was happening, how the teens came to be there and how they had obtained alcohol, Dierdorff said, “All that is, as I understand it, under investigation.” Asked whether he or Jurasek were under investigation themselves, he said he did not know.

“We’re just grieving for the family that’s had a loss,” Dierdorff said. “That’s really all I know right now.”

Scappoose School Board Vice Chair Branda Jurasek did not respond to repeated requests for comment regarding a fatal crash that the crash victim’s father said had followed a gathering of minors drinking alcohol on Jurasek and her husband’s property. Ava Crews, 17, died in the May 18, 2025, crash.

Courtesy of Scappoose School District

Heard’s probable cause affidavit states that “there was no adult supervision present or in the area” at the time of the crash.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it is still investigating what happened leading up to the crash. It wants anyone with relevant information to contact the county’s sheriff’s office.

Scappoose School Board Chair Phil Lager declined to comment, saying he believed Crews’ death was “a personal matter, honestly, between that family and that situation,” and directed further questions to the district superintendent.

Superintendent Tim Porter said in a statement that the school district is focused on supporting the grieving community and that “we will not speculate or comment on the details of the incident, particularly regarding its location or any individual’s involvement, while law enforcement continues its investigation.”

The district is not conducting its own investigation into the incident, he added.

Heard, who turned 18 one week before the crash, cried at his arraignment on May 19 as Crews’ mother read a statement urging the criminal justice system to treat him with compassion.

“While our hearts are broken for our daughter, they are also broken for Ayden and his family,” Ava Crews’ mother, Brooke Crews, said at the arraignment. “He will suffer enough. And it will not bring our daughter back.”

Heard’s attorneys declined to comment to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The next Scappoose School Board meeting is scheduled for Monday. Heard’s next court hearing is scheduled for June 27.

— Fedor Zarkhin is a breaking news and enterprise reporter. Do you have a story? Reach him by phone or text at 971-373-2905 or by email at


fzarkhin@oregonian.com


.

Most Popular Stories by

Fedor Zarkhin

Oregon’s governor and medical board proposed a bill with a controversial word in it. BIPOC legislators objected

• Oregon softball coaches suspended after confronting 11-year-old player on field

• Utah man seriously injured in 90-foot jump at popular Oregon waterfall

• ‘I’m a dead man’: Bodycam footage shows moments before Clark County deputy fatally stabbed DUI suspect

• Former city councilor arrested following dustup with Oregon police chief over ‘racist’ comments

• N. Portland street takeovers went unchecked Sunday because cops were busy on another call

About The Author