Car leaves Hwy. 22, lands in Sardine Creek

A Portland couple escaped serious injury Thursday afternoon when their car left Oregon Hwy. 22 east of Detroit and plunged into the shallow waters of Sardine Creek, Oregon State Police reported.

OSP, ODOT and the Gates Rural Fire Protection District were dispatched around 1:30 p.m. to a report of a vehicle in the water off the highway near Big Cliff Dam, troopers said. Upon arrival, they found the car in about three feet of water near milepost 39.

According to OSP Sgt. Mark Davie, a witness following the 2001 Toyota Avalon said the driver failed to negotiate a curve and drove straight off the highway, crashing through a guardrail and down the embankment into the creek.

Driver Kathryn Hansman Spice, 69, and her husband, Byron Spice, 78, of northeast Portland, were removed by firefighters and taken to Santiam Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

OSP troopers said they investigated and determined driver fatigue may have been a contributing factor. The driver was cited for failure to drive within a lane.