MADRAS, OR -- Three people were killed in a head-on collision, early Friday morning, just north of Madras. According to Oregon State Police, 33-year-old Sarah Marie Steffler was northbound on Highway 97 at about 2 a.m. when, for an unknown reason, her Mazda sedan crossed into the southbound lanes. She hit the guardrail before colliding with a Kia SUV, driven by 40-year-old Miguel Galvan Sanchez, of Manson, WA.
Steffler, of Moses Lake, WA, and a her young passenger were killed in the crash. Sanchez and one passenger were taken by ambulance to St. Charles Madras; another of his passengers was flown to St. Charles Bend. His fourth passenger, a girl, sustained fatal injuries.
Highway 97 was closed for about four hours to allow OSP, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, ODOT and medics to work the scene.