Teenage Girl Dead after SUV Loses Control

Date:  December 18, 2011
Location:  Southeast Currin Road, near Wallace Road, Estacada
Name:  Katie May Kammeyer

Police accident investigators are still trying to determine the cause of an accident that took the life of an 18-year-old Estacada girl on Sunday evening.

Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sergeant James Rhodes, says a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe being driven by Katie Kammeyer, 18, of Estacada, failed to negotiate a turn as she was westbound on Southeast Currin Road, near Wallace Road, at around 8:40 p.m. Sunday. The report in The Oregonian says the SUV lost control and veered across oncoming lanes before leaving the road, rolling and hitting a power pole. Emergency responders worked desperately to free Kammeyer from the wreckage, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sergeant Rhodes said there were no indications that drugs or alcohol were contributing factors in the crash.

We send our heartfelt sympathies to Katie Kammeyer’s family and friends at this tragic time.

While accidents like this one can seem black or white, a closer investigation will sometimes turn up a surprise. Many will assume that the driver was speeding, or stopped paying attention for some other reason. And perhaps that is exactly what happened.

But there are many other possibilities as well. Poor road conditions may have caused this wreck – for all we know, there may have been a large pothole that has already caused three accidents, or maybe there’s a blind curve with a missing warning sign. If that is the case, there may be a lawsuit available against the city/county/state. Such a lawsuit would allow the Kammeyer family to receive compensation and hopefully prevent future accidents on that stretch of road.

Maybe the SUV was recently brought in for a tune-up, and the mechanic replaced the steering mechanism carelessly, and the vehicle lost steering. These things happen, and when someone is seriously injured or tragically killed, a competent Oregon personal injury attorney can investigate and find out what happened. Usually at no cost. For more information on what to do in the case of an Oregon accident, contact our office or read 7 Common Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Oregon Accident Case.