Two Hermiston men, one from Boardman and a Washington woman died in an accident involving an alleged drunk driver early Sunday on Cabbage Hill, east of Pendleton. The man accused of the causing the accident has been charged with first-degree manslaughter and drunk driving.

The four died in a crash after a pickup struck their car from behind, Oregon State Police reported.

Jessie Cline, 29, of Hermiston was driving a 1991 Chevrolet Beretta, which had three passengers: Michelle Sawyer, 29, of Lynnwood, Wash.; William Johnson, 24, of Hermiston, and Fred A. Young Jr., 31, of Boardman.

Cline and his passengers died at the scene, police said. They were returning from La Grande after participating in a young singles activity with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

State police arrested the driver of the pickup, John C. Carlgren, 46, of Carlton on accusations of manslaughter and drunk driving, said Lt. Gregg Hastings of the Oregon State Police.

He said the preliminary investigation shows Carlgren was driving a 1999 Dodge Dakota westbound when he struck the Beretta from behind at about 12:19 a.m. near Milepost 219 on Interstate 84. Hastings said the crash still was under investigation. At this point, police are uncertain if the Beretta was stopped on the shoulder when it was hit or if it had slowed for some reason.

Jeff Snell, LDS stake president, said all four were “just good people.” The quartet spent a lot of time in the communities where they lived, helping others. They had just returned from a football game at Eastern Oregon University with friends from the Walla Walla and La Grande LDS stakes.

“Fred Young and Michelle Sawyer were engaged,” Snell said. “She leaves a 5- or 6-year-old daughter behind. All four had challenges in their lives and worked through them.”

Snell said all four came from good families and had many friends in their church.

“They loved their friends in their congregation and their friends loved them,” he said.

Umatilla Tribal Fire & Ambulance took Carlgren to St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton, where the staff treated him for minor injuries. State troopers arrested Carlgren after his release and lodged him in the Umatilla County Jail on four counts of second-degree manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants.

Carlgren has a $5,000 bail-bond for the DUII charge and a $200,000 bail-bond for the second-degree manslaughter charge, which is a Class B felony.

Authorities closed traffic to one lane for most of the night while investigators were at the crash scene, which they cleared about 8 Sunday morning, Hastings said. State troopers are continuing the investigation along with the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office.

District Attorney Dean Gushwa said Carlgren was arraigned Monday. The district attorney increased the manslaughter charges to first-degree manslaughter, making all four charges a Class A felony that carries a 10-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for each charge.

Gushwa said the initial charges are simply on what the state police arrested Carlgren, but after his office investigated the crash scene further, Gushwa decided on the harsher charges. He said the difference between first-degree manslaughter and second-degree manslaughter has to do with the state of recklessness.

“I believe this demonstrated a manifest indifference to the value of human life,” he said.

Carlgren pleaded not guilty to all charges, and Umatilla County Circuit Court Judge Garry Reynolds set his bail at $400,000. Carlgren remains in the county jail.

Gushwa also said he plans to present this case to a grand jury this week.

Karen Hutchinson-Talaski contributed to this story.