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Teen driver had permit a month The 16-year-old driver who died in a Friday car crash that killed her parents and another motorist and critically injured her brother did not yet have a license. Carlie Knapp of Eagle Point was issued a driver's instruction permit on March 5, said Kevin Beckstrom, public information officer with the state Department of Motor Vehicles. That was just four weeks before the accident, which occurred at 11 a.m. on a sunny, dry stretch of two-lane Highway 89 in Northern California, about 70 miles from the Oregon border. "It's real straight there, but there are dips, that's the best way to describe it," said Kim Baldi, public information officer for the Mount Shasta office of the California Highway Patrol. The Knapp family was en route to a wrestling tournament in Reno, Nev. Preliminary investigations indicate that Carlie Knapp was driving south in a 1989 Dodge Colt when the car swerved slightly onto the right shoulder. She apparently overcorrected, Baldi said, and drove into the path of a northbound 1991 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck driven by a California U.S. Forest Service employee. The truck struck the car broadside, instantly killing Carlie Knapp and her father, Stephen Knapp, 45; and the truck's driver, Harry T. Cianci, 60, of Grenada, Calif. Her mother, Catherine Knapp, 41, died later at Mercy Medical Center in Mount Shasta. Juan Knapp, 14, the girl's brother, remained in critical condition Monday at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, a hospital spokesman said. There was no indication of excessive speed, the CHP official said. All five people in the two cars were wearing seat belts. Carlie Knapp acquired her driving permit later than Oregon law allows. Although she turned 16 in December, she was eligible to apply for a permit and enroll in driver's training classes at age 15 . Oregon law requires that young drivers who apply for a license have had an instruction permit for six months and complete 50 hours of driving experience with a licensed driver. They must also complete a certified driver's training course or log an additional 50 hours of driving. The girl is the third 16-year-old Southern Oregon driver involved in a fatal accident in less than a month. Ruth Anne Fernandez, 16, of Jacksonville, died March 23 when a car driven by her 16-year-old friend, Johanna Beth Dorris of Medford, smashed into a tree as it rounded a curve. Sean Ray Wellbaum, 18, of Talent, died March 24 after he was thrown from a car driven by Matthew D. Caucutt, 16, of Jacksonville. As a new driver, Carlie Knapp would have been affected by driving restrictions imposed on teen drivers licensed after March 1, said Larry Blower, coordinator of high school driver's training programs at Rogue Community College. Teens are required to follow these rules: For the first six months: No driving with passengers under age 20 who are not family members. For the second six months: No driving with more than three passengers under 20 who are not family members. For the first year: No driving between midnight and 5 a.m. unless teens are driving home from work, a school event or accompanied by a passenger at least 25 years old. "When you get involved with any gravel or overcorrecting, there's no way for sure to tell how students will react to situations in real life," said Blower, who has taught hundreds of kids to drive. "I wish there was a better way." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA