Redmond-area crash victim, 80, ‘had a heart of gold,’ nephew says

Victim struck from behind; driver, 81, stayed on scene

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – An 80-year-old Redmond-area woman who was struck from behind and killed while walking her dog in the Tetherow Crossing neighborhood Wednesday afternoon “had a heart of gold” and would “go out of her way to help everybody,” her grieving nephew said Saturday.

Anna Louise Jondall was walking with the flow of traffic along Northwest Odin Falls Way near Frank Way in the area northwest of Redmond when an 81-year-old woman who also lived in the area struck Jondall with her westbound SUV, Deschutes County sheriff’s Sgt. Jayson Janes said. Jondall died at the scene.

The results of an investigation are being forwarded to the district attorney’s office for review, but Janes said, “Speed and alcohol are not contributing factors to this tragic accident.” His initial report on the crash said the driver remained on the scene and cooperated with the investigation.

Ken White said Jondall, his aunt, was walking her dog on a loop through the older neighborhood, which like many has no sidewalks. The dog was found and was not injured.

“There’s not even a safe place to walk,” he said. “People out there, they don’t slow down. It feels awful to say this, but at least she was struck from behind and didn’t see it coming.”

White said of his aunt, “She had a heart of gold. She was an awesome aunt and a great sister” to Betty, White’s mother, who lived nearby. Two other sisters, Jackie and Sharlene, still live in California, where Jondall and her husband, Bud, had moved from about 20 years ago; her two sons live there as well.

“She was just a people person,” White said. “She loved to go dancing. She had tons of friends. There wasn’t one person that she didn’t get along with, and she’d go out of her way to help everybody. She will be dearly missed.”