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Highway 140 crash kills one, injures three By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune A 72-year-old Washington woman died and members of a prominent Medford sports family were injured in a one-vehicle crash Saturday on Highway 140 in Klamath County. Lila Lore of La Center, Wash., was killed in the 7:30 p.m. crash after she was thrown from the window of her son's van, which landed on top of her, according to the Oregon State Police. Police said Lore was not wearing a safety belt at the time of the crash, which occurred along Highway 140 near the Dead Indian Memorial Road intersection. The OSP said Lore was a passenger in a 1989 Ford 15-passenger van driven by her son, Dennis Gettman, 52, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Medford. Also injured in the crash were Gettman's wife, Gail, and 16-year-old daughter Hannah, a standout basketball player at Cascade Christian High School. "It's a tragedy for the family," said Loren King, Cascade Christian's girls basketball coach and family friend. "Their church and friends have rallied to support them, and their faith is helping, too." The Gettmans have 16 children under the age of 28, with many involved in high school sports. King said the accident occurred as eight family members were headed home in the van from a birthday party in Klamath Falls. Police said Dennis Gettman was driving west on Highway 140 when the van slid on the icy road and crashed into a 4-foot snow berm on the highway's west side. Lore was ejected from a left-rear window and the van spun and tipped onto its left side, pinning the woman beneath it, the OSP said. Bystanders helped Oregon Department of Transportation workers as they jacked the van up to rescue Lore, but she died from her injuries before she could be freed. Gail and Hannah Gettman were taken by ambulance to Merle West Medical Center in Klamath Falls, where they were treated for minor injuries and released, the OSP said. The others did not require treatment for injuries except what they received at the scene, police said. Hannah Gettman suffered cuts to her right arm, and King said he was unsure when or if she could return to the basketball team. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.