Diamond Lake Jct. car-truck crash kills woman

A female passenger was killed Wednesday morning when a driver ran a stop sign and their car was struck by a tanker truck at the Diamond Lake Junction in Klamath County, Oregon State Police reported.

The woman’s name and that of the driver were withheld pending notification of family members, but troopers said they were related, out-of-state residents.

They said preliminary information indicated around 7:35 a.m., a 1999 Honda Civic driven by a 31-year-old man was heading east on Hwy. 138E when he failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection with Highway 97.

As the car moved onto Highway 97, it was struck on the passenger side by a northbound 2007 Freightliner pulling an empty tanker trailer, troopers said. After the collision, the two vehicles came to rest about 50 feet off the highway.

The car’s right-front passenger, a 25-year-old woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. The car’s driver was taken by ambulance to Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls for treatment of a minor injury

The truck driver, Kenneth Brasser, 57, of Klamath Falls, was unhurt, troopers said. He is a driver for Home Run Transport out of Klamath Falls and was wearing his seat belt, they said.

OSP troopers from the Klamath Falls Area Command office are continuing the investigation. Trooper Patrick Irish is the lead investigator.