Instagram photo A Brazilian man documenting a trip from Brazil to Alaska was killed in a head-on collision on the Redwood Highway near Selma on Monday.

A Brazilian resident who amassed 415,000 Instagram followers while touring the United States in an air-cooled Volkswagen with his golden retriever was killed Monday after his VW crashed into oncoming traffic on the Redwood Highway near Selma .

Jesse Kozechen, 29, of Brazil, died Monday morning on Highway 199 after his Volkswagen Beetle – sold as the VW Fusca in the Brazilian market – crashed into oncoming traffic while trying to avoid slow-moving traffic, and around 10 am collided with an oncoming Ford Escape SUV: 30 a.m., according to Oregon State Police. The highway was closed for two hours as a result of the accident.

Kozechen had swerved to overtake a turning vehicle but over-corrected and collided with a Ford Escape being driven by Eileen Huss, 62, of Selma, and a 2-year-old passenger. Kozechen was pronounced dead at the scene. Huss was taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance and Huss’ 2-year-old passenger was unharmed, according to the OSP.

According to Kozechen’s website and 915 posts on his Instagram page, Kozechen had spent years meandering road tripping with his golden retriever “Shurastery” in his Volkswagen, which was outfitted with a camping tent on the roof.

In 2017, Kozechen was featured on popular pet website and YouTube channel The Dodo for his dog’s unusual ability to mimic his facial expressions.

OSP Captain Stephanie Bigman confirmed that a golden retriever with kozechen had died in the VW. A pit bull in Huss’ SUV drove away after the crash with undisclosed injuries.

According to Kozechen’s Instagram page – going by the name @shurastey – he and his dog had traveled more than 50,000 miles since May 2017 on a journey that had taken him through South America, Mexico and across the United States. His goal was to reach Alaska.

According to his Portuguese website (shurasety.com), translated using Google Translate, Kozechen said he works 8 to 10 hours a day at a mall in the southern Brazilian resort town of Balneário Camboriú, and “has decided life is more than.” just wait.”

“I wanted to do something new, something different, something that would make my heart flutter, that in a few years I would remember and smile out of nowhere just with the reminder that my life was worth living,” Kozechen wrote .

He found inspiration from a backpacker group on social media and from accounts of people who have traveled the world without money. He sold everything he owned, including an Xbox, and headed to Argentina.

His Instagram shows show that he was always traveling. In 2022, Kozechen traveled in the VW to U.S. landmarks including the Washington Monument on April 1, Times Square on April 8, Route 66 on April 27, Hollywood on May 7, and the Golden Gate Bridge on May 18. May.

His most recent post described camping in the state of Oregon “in the middle of nowhere” with the goal of continuing to Canada.

You can reach Web Editor Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @MTwebeditor.