Hwy. 22E crash kills Stayton woman, injures Culver man

An 86-year-old Stayton woman was killed and a Culver man was seriously injured Saturday evening in a two-vehicle crash on state Highway 22E near Stayton, Oregon State Police reported.

OSP troopers and medics responded around 5:30 p.m. to the reported crash at Highway 22E and Fern Ridge Road SE, troopers said.

A preliminary investigation found that Mark Higley, 88, of Stayton, was driving a Mercury Marquis westbound on the highway and attempted to turn onto Fern Ridge Road, directly into the path of an eastbound Chevy Suburban driven by Windy Dethman, 49, of Culver, according to OSP.

A passenger in Higley’s car, Ella Higley, suffered fatal injuries in the crash and died at the scene, troopers said. Mark Higley was unhurt.

One of six passengers in Dethman’s SUV, Robert Dethman, 52, suffered serious injuries, while Windy Dethman and the other adult and four children were not injured, OSP said.

The crash and investigation closed Highway 22E for four hours. OSP was assisted at the scene by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, ODOT and Stayton Fire and medics, troopers said.

KTVZ 2019