OSP IDs Bend-area driver, 19, killed in Hwy. 97 crash

(Update: OSP identifies 19-year-old driver killed in crash)

A 19-year-old Bend-area woman was killed and two California residents were injured in a head-on crash Thursday evening that closed U.S. Highway 97 in northern Klamath County for about four hours, Oregon State Police said.

OSP troopers and other emergency personnel responded around 7:30 p.m. to the reported crash near milepost 197 between Crescent and Chemult, about two miles south of the junction with state Highway 58, Sgt. Michael Berland said.

An investigation found that the driver of a white 2005 Jeep Liberty, identified Friday as Lauren Cantrell, was heading south on the highway and drifted onto the southbound shoulder, Berland said. She apparently overcorrected and spun into the oncoming lane, colliding with a gray 2014 Dodge Ram pickup truck towing a trailer,

Cantrell died at the scene, according to Berland. The driver’s name was withheld until family could be notified.

The pickup’s driver, Clarence Noblet, 57, of Janesville, California, and his wife, Larine Noblet, 55, were taken to St. Charles Bend for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, Berland said. They were listed in fair condition Friday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

“Distracted driving and speed are believed to be factors in the crash,” Berland said in a news release.

OSP was assisted at the scene by ODOT, the Chemult Rural Fire District and Crescent Fire District.