Sisters-area woman killed in crash on icy Highway 20
A 74-year-old Sisters-area woman was killed Wednesday morning when she lost control of her car on icy Highway 20 east of Sisters and it crossed into the oncoming lane, where it was struck by an oncoming pickup truck, Oregon State Police reported.
It was the worst of numerous crashes and highway closures around the region after a new bout of snowfall made roads dangerous once again.
Karen Langeliers died of the scene of the collision, which occurred just before 10 a.m. on the highway near milepost 3, just east of Sisters, said OSP Lt. Bill Fugate.
Fugate said preliminary information indicated Langeliers, who lived on Fryrear Road in the Sisters area, was driving a 2008 Nissan Maxima heading west on the highway when she lost control on the ice. The car crossed into the eastbound lane, where it was struck on the passenger side by a 1999 Ford F-350 pickup.
The pickup’s driver, Jay Kittams, 71, of Molalla, was not injured in the crash, which closed both lanes of the highway for more than an hour. It was limited to one lane of traffic with flaggers for about another hour.
Fugate said the icy road conditions were a contributing factor to the crash, while the investigation continues. OSP was assisted at the scene by the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Officers, Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department, Cloverdale Rural Fire Protection District and Oregon Department of Transportation.
Another crash was reported around noon on Highway 26 on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, blocking the highway at milepost 72, just east of the Warm Springs Junction (Highway 216 turnoff). Around 2 p.m., it was reopened to one lane with traffic controlled by flaggers, ODOT reported.
Shortly before 3 p.m. came word of another closure of Highway 97, two miles south of Chemult, due to a crash. ODOT said there was no detour and urged motorists to avoid travel in the area until it was cleared.
Earlier, a rollover crash was reported Wednesday morning on Highway 97 in Redmond at milepost 119, and more traffic woes and backups occurred at a familiar trouble spot, Highway 97 at Lava Butte south of Bend.
Track road conditions at the KTVZ.COM TripCheck Website.
A weather spotter north of La Pine reported nine inches of new snow overnight for a total estimate of 30 inches on the ground from recent storms.
The Sunriver and La Pine libraries said they would close early at 4 p.m. Wednesday due to the heavy snowfall. The other Deschutes Public Libraries were open normal hours.
NewsChannel 21’s Russell Bird will have an updated Local Alert Weather forecast for the Christmas period on Fox at 4 and 5/6 on NBC.
