Madras woman killed, 5 hurt in 4-car Hwy. 26 crash
A Madras woman was killed and five other people were injured late Friday afternoon when the woman lost control of her minivan on icy Highway 26 east of Mt. Hood and crossed into the oncoming lane, triggering a four-car crash, Oregon State Police reported.
OSP Lt. Josh Brooks identified the victim late Saturday as Kimberly A. Meeker, 41, of Madras. No names have been released of those injured in the crash, which shut the highway for over four hours.
Troopers were dispatched around 4:15 p.m. to the crash at milepost 67.5 in Wasco County, near Frog Lake and about 10 miles south of the junction with state Highway 35, said OSP Lt. Josh Brooks.
A preliminary investigation indicates a blue 2005 Dodge Caravan occupied by Meeker and two juvenile passengers was heading east when she lost control on ice in the area and crossed into the westbound lane, Brooks said.
The Caravan was struck on the driver’s side by a westbound 2007 Volvo S40 occupied by two adults and an infant. The minivan then collided with a westbound silver 2002 Toyota Sequoia, occupied only by the driver, Brooks said.
A fourth vehicle, an eastbound black 2005 Saturn Ion, tried to avoid the crash but did hit the Volvo’s rear bumper, then the guardrail.
A juvenile rear passenger in the minivan was flown by Life Flight helicopter to a Portland-area hospital, as was the Sequoia’s driver, while the Caravan’s injured front passenger was taken by ground ambulance to Portland.
The passengers in the Volvo were taken by private vehicle to St. Charles hospital as a precaution, the lieutenant said. None of the people in the Saturn reported injuries.
OSP was aided at the scene by ODOT, a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer, Life Flight and the Hoodland Fire District.
The investigation continues, but Brooks said ice is being investigated as the likely cause of the crash. An ODOT spokesman said freezing rain was reported in the area around the time of the crash.
