An 81-year-old Sweet Home woman died after a transport van crashed on Sept. 23 on Highway 20 near Harmony Road.
Mildred Hilgerson was being transported from a medical facility in Lebanon to her residence in Sweet Home by TLC Medical Transport when the transport van left the highway into the right-side ditch, according to Oregon State Police. The vehicle struck a culvert, went airborne and came to rest right side up.
Hilgerson had been secured in her wheelchair in the back of the van at the time of the crash. She was transported to Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital in critical condition. She died later from her injuries.
The driver, Charles William Watts, 40, of Albany sustained serious injuries to his spinal area. He was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene after initial assessment at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis.
The exact cause of the crash, which occurred at about 10:35 a.m., remained under investigation by members of the Oregon State Police Albany Area Command at the end of the week. Deputies from Linn County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the investigation.