Selma woman deceased in car crash
From our weekly issue dated February 25, 2009
Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson points to fresh damage to the bridge over Clear Creek. (Photo by IVFD Media Dept.)
A Selma woman’s husband and son found her body floating near her overturned car in Clear Creek Thursday afternoon, Feb. 19, said Josephine County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO).
Dead is Renee Kieffer, 54. Her family was looking for her, as she had left the home of friends around midnight the day before, but had not returned home.
At 1:24 p.m. Thursday, Mrs. Kieffer’s 25-year-old son called 911 to report that her car had been found overturned in Clear Creek, located just off Hidden Creek Road in Selma. Before emergency personnel could arrive, Kieffer’s family located her body floating in the creek not far from the crash.
Sheriff Gil Gilbertson responded, along with Illinois Valley Fire District and American Medical Response.
Sheriff’s detectives believe that heading home, Mrs. Kieffer drove her car down a winding private dirt road, where she encountered a narrow bridge. Investigators believe that she drove off the side of the bridge, plunging her car upside-down 10 to 15 feet into the creek.
The creek water swept Kieffer from her car and downstream approximately 20 yards, where her body was later discovered, JCSO said.
The district medical examiner is scheduled to examine the case within the coming week to determine the cause and manner of death.
Advertisement:
