Oregon State Police troopers, with the assistance of Linn County Sheriff’s Office, are continuing an investigation into a fatal traffic crash Saturday morning on Highway 34 about 100 yards west of Interstate 5 involving a woman who ran out onto the highway.
The victim was identified as Mary Ann Bradford, 42. According to her ID card, her last known residence was Klawock, Alaska.
According to OSP Sgt. Craig Flierl, OSP troopers and Linn County deputies responded to a reported disturbance just before 6 a.m. at a Chevron gas station on north side of Highway 34 west of Interstate 5. An unidentified man in the blue 1995 Mercury four-door was reportedly involved in a disturbance with a woman.
At approximately 6:05 a.m. a second report was received of an injury crash involving a pickup that had struck a woman in the westbound lanes of Highway 34 west of Interstate 5. Officers and Albany Fire Department personnel responded and found Bradford critically injured in the highway. She was transported by ambulance to Albany General Hospital, where she died about two hours later.
Flierl said Bradford reportedly ran from the area of an Arco gas station on the south side of Highway 34 into the westbound lanes, where she was struck in the left lane by a westbound 1998 Dodge Dakota pickup driven by William Blake, 68, of Lebanon. Blake was using safety restraints and was not injured.
The blue Mercury was not at the scene when emergency responders arrived and left in an unknown direction, police said.
Investigators are seeking any witnesses who may have been at a nearby gas station and saw a disturbance involving a woman and a man in a blue 1995 Mercury Mystique four-door displaying Nevada license 280 VTX. That vehicle may have been associated with this investigation.
Flierl said OSP troopers investigating Saturday morning’s fatal crash located next of kin in the St. Helens area. He said the victim and the man, whose full name is not known, apparently stayed in the area for about a week and were en route to an unknown destination from Alaska.
Anyone who may have witnessed the reported disturbance at the Chevron gas station or have information about the vehicle of interest is asked to call OSP Northern Command Center dispatch at (800) 452-7888.