REDMOND, OR -- Two people were killed in separate Central Oregon crashes, Wednesday afternoon, just hours apart.
At about 1:30, State Police responded to Highway 97, a mile south of Terrebonne. Investigators believe 26-year-old Amber Paplia, of Madras, was northbound when she crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a car driven by a Gaston man. He was seriously injured; his wife was killed and two others in the car suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Paplia was also taken to the hospital with serious injuries.Fatigue is believed to be a contributing factor in that crash.
Just before 5 p.m., crews responded to Highway 26, between Madras and Prineville, after a car crashed into a tree, sparking a four-acre grass fire. A passerby rescued a woman and three children from the vehicle, but the male driver was killed. The woman was flown to St. Charles Bend; the three kids were taken by ambulance to the Madras hospital with minor injuries.
That crash remains under investigation.
