A Redmond woman was killed Tuesday afternoon in a chain-reaction crash on Highway 97 near Madras, according to Oregon State Police.
Oregon State Police Troopers and emergency personnel responded around 1:35 p.m. to a multi-vehicle crash on Hwy 97 near milepost 100 (SW Bear Drive) south of Madras.
The preliminary investigation showed a line of traffic was stopped northbound waiting for a vehicle making a left hand turn onto SW Bear Drive.
A northbound Volvo semi-truck and trailer, driven by a Yuba City, Calif. man struck the back of a stopped Toyota Rav 4, driven by a West Linn woman. The semi-truck then crossed into the oncoming lane and hit a southbound BMW operated by a Ridgefield, Wash. woman. The semi-truck then collided with a southbound Volvo driven by 52-year-old Nadia Rankov Adams of Redmond.
Rankov Adams sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, OSP said.
Several other drivers and their passengers were taken to area hospitals with various injuries.
A similar crash at that site in 2016 killed four members of one family.
“This is one of the key intersections of consideration and need, to address this from the engineering side of things.” said Gary Farnsworth, Region 4 Manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation.
He says a left turn lane is being considered but isn’t an easy or perfect fix.
Jefferson County and ODOT are also working to address the entire corridor between Madras and Terrebonne, but Farnsworth says those are long-term plans.
