A West Linn woman and her 8-year-old daughter died early Tuesday morning from injuries sustained in a crash on Highway 35 south of Odell New Year’s Eve, police reported. Another passenger remains in critical condition, and Oregon State Police (OSP) are continuing the investigation.
Anita Kawecki, 48, and her daughter Anna were passengers in a car that lost control on an icy section of Highway 35 south of Odell and was involved in a collision with a Chevrolet Blazer. Both were originally critically injured, as was the driver's girlfriend, Alisa Huttes, 24, from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
An Oregon mother and daughter died Tuesday from injuries sustained in a crash on New Year's Eve after the driver hit an icy patch of road in a shaded area and lost control - OSP photo.
Mother and daughter both reportedly died from their injuries Tuesday morning – Anita at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) and Anna at Legacy Emanuel Hospital (LEH).
According to an OSP news release, the accident occurred shortly after 11 a.m., December 31. Trooper Mike Holloran responded quickly to a reported serious two-car crash on Highway 35 south of Odell and arrived within a minute of the call. Before emergency medical personnel could arrive, Holloran triaged the patients with the help of people who stopped at the scene. Lifesaving efforts began on the three most critically injured patients including establishing open airways and performing CPR on the mother for about 30 minutes.
Preliminary investigation indicates that a southbound 2005 Honda Accord driven by Jacek Kawecki, 25, from Arlington, Virginia, was accelerating up a hill in the left lane passing another vehicle when he entered a shady, icy spot on the highway. The Honda lost control, spun 180 degrees into the northbound lane and rear-end collided with the front-end of a northbound 1988 Chevrolet Blazer driven by 21-year old Kelso, Washington resident David Dolan.
Both drivers were using safety restraints, troopers said. Dolan, the sole occupant of his vehicle, was treated and released from the Hood River Hospital for minor injuries. Jacek Kawecki, the brother and son of the deceased persons, was not injured.
The news release stated that four passengers in the Honda were originally injured, including the mother and daughter who later died.
Right front seat passenger 17-year-old David Kawecki from West Linn was transported to Hood River Hospital where he was treated and released for minor injuries.
Right rear seat passenger Alisa Huttes was not using safety restraints, troopers said. She was transported by ambulance to LEH with critical injuries.
The mother, seated in the left rear passenger area with her daughter on her lap, was not using safety restraints. She was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to OHSU where she later died. The daughter was transported by ambulance to LEH where she also later succumbed to her injuries.
Troopers reported that snow and ice on Highway 35 had mostly thawed earlier in the day, but the shaded area likely extended the icing condition where the crash occurred.
Oregon Department of Transportation personnel detoured traffic through Odell for about three hours.
Investigators planned to meet with the Hood River County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday to review the investigation.