• print
• Share | e-mail Facebook Tweet Digg StumbleUpon Delicious Google Yahoo Buzz

This aerial photo shows the rear dual wheels that came off the semitrailer in the collision, at left, and the damaged SUV whose occupants were killed.
Courtesy Oregon State Police

Highway 97 south of Klamath Falls now reopened following fatal crash

Highway 97 has reopened after being closed in both directions near the Midland rest stop south of Klamath Falls for about four hours, due to a fatal accident, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation. Two people were killed in the accident, which involved a semitrailer and a passenger vehicle, spokesman Peter Murphy said in a press release.

According to Lt. Steve Nork of the Oregon State Police, a SUV driven by a 65-year old woman was southbound on Highway 97 near milepost 282 when it crossed the paved center median area in front of the Midland Rest Area and crashed into the rear dual wheels of a semi-trailer. The impact tore off the trailer's rear dual wheels.

The driver of the semi, Gustavo Chang, 28, from La Puente, California, slowed to a stop with the semi-trailer's rear section sliding on the pavement. Chang, who was wearing a seat belt, and his passenger, who was in the truck's sleeper birth, were not injured.

The SUV's driver and her 70-year old husband, the passenger, were pronounced dead at the scene. Both were using safety restraints. Names of the victims have not been released pending notification of family members.

• print
• Share | e-mail Facebook Tweet Digg StumbleUpon Delicious Google Yahoo Buzz