SCAPPOOSE, A 57-year-old woman died Monday evening when a Subaru crossed the center line on Highway 30 just south of the Columbia County line and hit her Volkswagen head-on, Oregon State Police said.
Rachel Ann Mitchell was declared dead at the scene, according to an OSP release issued Wednesday. The driver of the Subaru, Christopher Lee Matteson, 48, of Columbia City, was seriously injured and taken to a hospital.
Troopers were called at 6:02 p.m. Oct. 19 to the crash near milepost 18, in Multnomah County a short distance from Scappoose. The preliminary investigation found Matteson’s green Subaru Outback was westbound when “for unknown reasons, it crossed into the eastbound lanes” and struck Mitchell’s red Volkswagen Bug, the release said. The release did not list a hometown for Mitchell.
Highway 30 was closed for about six hours while investigators worked the scene, through the evening commute for drivers between Scappoose and Portland. Scappoose Fire Department, Scappoose Police and the Oregon Department of Transportation assisted.
OSP did not say whether speed, impairment or a medical event was a factor, and the release mentions no citation or arrest. The investigation is continuing.