A 16-year-old Sweet Home girl was killed Sunday afternoon in a two-vehicle fatal crash on Highway 228, just east of Brownsville, police said.
According to police, Caroline Nichole Huss was killed when a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban she was driving westbound on Highway 228 near milepost 8 crossed the centerline on a rightcurve and was struck in the left side by an eastbound tow truck atbout 2:50 p.m.
The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene, police said.
Her mother, Angela Huss, 37, who was sitting in the right front passenger seat, received minor injuries and was to go to a hospital to be checked by a doctor. Safety restraint use by the victim is pending confirmation, Lt. Gregg Hastings said. Angela Huss was using safety restraints and the vehicle’s airbags deployed, he said.
The tow truck driver, Allan R. Wooster, 53, from Eugene, was transported by ground ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend with minor injuries. He was using safety restraints. The tow truck was transporting a passenger car on the back flatbed and a sport utility vehicle on a dolly trailer, Hastings said.
OSP troopers from the Albany Area Command office are continuing the investigation into the cause of the roadway departure crash. A “roadway departure crash” is one that occurs at a location along a road other than at an intersection, Hastings said.
“When a vehicle crosses a centerline or the other edge of the road, or goes off the road altogether, that’s a roadway departure crash.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, roadway departure crashes account for 53 percent of all fatal traffic crashes. In Oregon, these types of crashes account for approximately 66 percent of all fatalities.
The highway was closed for more than four hours.
OSP was assisted at the scene by Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District, Linn County Medical Examiner, and ODOT.