Hwy. 97 reopens after semi-car crash S. of Madras

A car went over the center line and collided head-on with a semi-truck on Highway 97 south of Madras Wednesday evening, seriously injuring two people in the car, closing the highway for eight hours and bringing police, medics and a Life Flight helicopter to the scene, authorities said.

Oregon State Police Trooper Jess Oliver said the female driver of a 1992 Honda Accord was heading north around 6:30 p.m. when she crossed into the southbound lanes for an as-yet unknown reason and collided head-on with a 2016 Freightliner semi-truck.

The driver of the Honda was taken to St Charles Redmond by ambulance, while a male passenger in the car was flown by Life Flight helicopter to St. Charles Bend.

The crash was called in around 6:30 p.m., Oliver said, adding that alcohol was not being investigated as a factor in the crash at this time.

The crash heavily damaged the semi-truck and ODOT sent a hazardous materials crew to deal with a large diesel spill, while a crash reconstruction team also worked at the scene.

The crash closed a roughly two-mile stretch of the highway near milepost 103 at the Highway 97 intersection with Iris Lane, about eight miles south of Madras, officials said

ODOT established a detour using Highway 361 the Culver Highway and said in a traffic alert shortly before 7 p.m. that an extended closure was expected, and it took until 2:30 a.m. Thursday to reopen Highway 97. Follow updates on KTVZ.COM’s TripCheck page.

We’ll have more information as it’s released.