Two Oregon State students die in car crash into river

Two Oregon State University students were killed in a traffic crash Sunday morning on Highway 20 near Eddyville.

According to Oregon State Police, 21-year-old Abigail Patricia Emerson of Roseburg was heading eastbound on Highway 20 in a 2000 Chrevolet Impala. Around 11 a.m., the car was driving through a sharp right curve when it began to fishtail.

Emerson lost control of the vehicle and it nearly hit another car before it went off the eastbound shoulder and rolled 40 feet down an embankment. The car landed on its top in the Yaquina River and was submerged in the river.

Oregon State Police, along with responders from the Toledo Fire Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Transportation, arrived on the scene and worked their way inside the overturned vehicle. They found both Emerson and her passenger, 24-year-old Christopher J. Kazanski of Madison, Wisc., unconscious inside.

Both Emerson and Kazanski were transported by ambulance to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Corvallis; they were pronounced dead after arrival.

Oregon State Police confirmed Monday morning that both were students at Oregon State University.

Police are still investigating the crash. The highway was closed for a brief period and then opened as one lane as officials worked to clear the scene.