Boise woman killed in Highway 97 head-on crash
A Boise woman was killed Sunday in a head-on crash of two SUVs on Highway 97 about 10 miles south of Chemult, Oregon State Police reported.
Troopers and emergency personnel responded to the reported crash around 10:30 a.m. near milepost 214, just south of the Highway 97 junction with Highway 138E (the Diamond Lake Highway) in Klamath County, said OSP Capt. Bill Fugate.
A preliminary investigation revealed Elizabeth A. Brown, 19, of Klamath Falls, was heading south at the wheel of a 2015 Honda Pilot when it drifted across the centerline and struck a northbound 2005 Toyota Matrix head-on, Fugate said.
The Toyota’s driver, Melissa Kay Gibson, 27, was declared dead on the scene by medics. Her passenger, Simona Arnautov, 22, of Oregon City, received non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Sky Lakes Medical Center in Klamath Falls. Brown also had non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the Klamath Falls hospital.
Fugate said that fatigue is being investigated as a contributing factor in the crash, which closed the highway for about 90 minutes, until one lane was opened with a flagger for alternating traffic. Both lanes were open again by 4 p.m.
OSP was assisted at the scene by Chemult Fire and ODOT, Fugate said.
