Seaside man killed, Linn County woman seriously hurt in Hwy. 97 van-semi crash near Sunriver
(Update: Oregon State Police release names, details)
SUNRIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Seaside man was killed and a Linn County woman was seriously injured in the collision of a van and semi-truck early Thursday morning on U.S. Highway 97 near Sunriver, Oregon State Police reported.
Troopers and other emergency personnel responded shortly after 1 a.m. to the reported crash on the highway at the intersection with Vandevert Road, OSP Captain Tim Fox said.
A preliminary investigation found that Sherri Wood, 46, of Lyons was driving a Dodge Caravan on Vandevert Road and failed to stop when entering the highway, Fox said.
The van struck the driver’s side of a northbound commercial truck driven by a 54-year-old Bakersfield, California man. The truck caught fire and burned beyond recognition, the captain said.
A passenger in the van, Robert Owens, 56, of Seaside, died at the crash scene, OSP said. Wood was flown by air ambulance to St. Charles Bend with life-threatening injuries. The truck driver escaped the burning rig and was uninjured.
The crash and investigation closed the highway for more than 10 hours. A detour through Sunriver was in place through the morning commute period, until the highway reopened shortly before noon.
OSP was assisted at the crash scene by ODOT, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and the Bend, La Pine and Sunriver fire agencies.
The crash occurred in the area of an ODOT project to improve safety by adding more acceleration lanes.
Another crash was reported around 4:30 a.m. about seven miles to the north, east of Highway 97 near milepost 153. A car ran into a tree and caught fire on or near Forest Service Road 4720, Deschutes County sheriff's Lt. Bryan Husband said.
The male driver, alone in the car, sustained a non-life-threatening injury and was taken by ambulance to St. Charles Bend.
Husband said initial reports indicated the driver was already out of the car, alert and conscious, when a witness and law enforcement arrived on scene. The fire was contained to the car and tree and was quickly doused by firefighters.
