Sisters, friend killed in wreck involving black ice
By KATU.com Web staffHOOD RIVER, Ore. — A women and two teens died Friday night when the car they were in slid on black ice and crashed into an oncoming vehicle on Highway 35 south of Hood River. According to Oregon State Police, 24-year-old Cheree Cluff of Parkdale was driving a 1997 Geo Metro south on the highway about 8:45 p.m. when the vehicle hit a patch of black ice while going around an uphill curve about two miles south of Hood River. The Geo then slid into the path of an oncoming 2007 Jeep Wrangler, causing a collision, state police said. Cluff and her 16-year-old sister, Jan Cluff, were pronounced dead at the scene, state police said. Another passenger, 13-year-old Clarissa Ortiz, was critically injured in the crash and later died at Providence Hood River Hospital. All were wearing seat belts, state police said. A fourth passenger, 13-year-old Shannon Cluff, a sister of Cheree and Jan Cluff, was thrown from the vehicle and suffered non-life threatening injuries, state police said. She was not wearing a seat belt. Authorities said neither the Jeep's driver, 24-year-old Vincent Hogan of Tacoma, Wash., nor his three passengers were hurt in the wreck. They were all wearing seat belts. The highway was closed in both directions for about three hours following the wreck. Even though the air temperature in the area Friday night was 38 degrees, there were severe black ice conditions, authorities said. State police warned drivers that ice-related crashes can happen even when the temperature is above freezing. |
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