Tonasket woman dies in Hwy. 97 crash south of Oroville

Officers from the Washington State Patrol and the Okanogan County Sheriff's office investigate the accident scene of a fatal two car collision about seven miles south of Oroville last Tuesday afternoon. Katie Teachout/staff photo
Officers from the Washington State Patrol and the Okanogan County Sheriff’s office investigate the accident scene of a fatal two car collision about seven miles south of Oroville last Tuesday afternoon. Katie Teachout/staff photo

OROVILLE – A 47-year-old Tonasket woman died when the car she was riding in attempted to turn off Highway 97 onto a driveway and was struck by an oncoming truck in the other lane.

The accident occurred seven miles south of Oroville on Tuesday, March 15 at 2:15 p.m., according to Washington State Patrol Trooper J. Delano. Anselma Cervantes, a passenger in a car driven by Yazmin Cervantes Orozco, 21, Tonasket, was declared dead at the scene and her next of kin have been notified of her death.

According to the trooper’s accident report, Cervantes Orozco was driving southbound in a 2002 Toyota Corolla on SR97 when she made a left turn onto a private driveway and was struck by a northbound 1969 Ford pickup driven by Steven L. Maupin, 19, Oroville.

Cervantes Orozco, Maupin, and Maupin’s passenger, Wyatt E. Radke, 16, Oroville, were all transported by ambulance to North Valley Hospital in Tonasket with injuries.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation and no one has been charged at this time. According to the police report, all were wearing seatbelts and no drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash. The vehicles were impounded and towed by Thompson Bees Towing.