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Crash kills Medford teen Truck skids 400 feet, tumbles 30 feet into Phoenix marsh By JILL BRISKEY PHOENIX � Police believe speed and alcohol could be to blame for a single-vehicle crash that claimed the life of a Medford teen Tuesday night. According to Phoenix Police Chief Bob Kershaw, the accident took place on Bear Creek Drive near East First Street around 6:45 p.m. Paramedics pronounced Sara Bernice Bishop, 18, dead at the scene. Kershaw said Bishop was driving a full-size Ford pickup north on Bear Creek Drive when � for an unknown reason � the vehicle began to swerve from lane to lane. Bear Creek Drive is the northbound side of Highway 99, which splits into two roads through part of Phoenix. Investigators recorded an estimated 400 feet of skid marks that began near East First Street, marking a path from the left lane to the right and finally down an embankment. Kershaw said the vehicle plunged about 30 feet down a hillside, landing upside down in a marshy patch of blackberry bushes. When it landed, the vehicle was facing south. Bishop was not wearing a seat belt, Kershaw said. The victim was trapped inside the pickup for several hours until crews from Phoenix Fire Department freed her body. Bishop�s passenger, a female teenager who was wearing her seat belt, was "shaken up" but not injured, Kershaw added. Police were unable to provide any additional information about the passenger. She was later taken to an area hospital by friends. The passenger told police Bishop had been speeding. Kershaw said investigators will speak to the teenager again later. Phoenix police officer Glenn Patchett said he isn�t sure if any arrests or citations will occur. "I don�t see any at this point, but again, I�m waiting for the conclusion of the investigation," Patchett said. "I don�t know how long it�s going to take." Police don�t know what caused Bishop to leave the road. Kershaw said one witness reported that Bishop swerved left and then right to avoid another car. Another witness claimed that Bishop made an improper turn onto the roadway and swerved to avoid traffic, Kershaw said. "We�ve got a couple of conflicting witness statements as to what happened," Kershaw said. "It does appear that alcohol and speed were definite factors here." Kershaw said tests will confirm if Bishop had been drinking Tuesday. He was unsure how long the accident reconstruction and investigation itself would take. The road was closed for several hours and traffic re-routed until around 9 p.m. Kershaw said in the last seven years, there hasn�t been a major accident on Bear Creek Drive. "We haven�t had a real problem with speeding along here," he added. Oregon State Police, Talent police and Jackson County Sheriff�s Department assisted with the initial response and investigation. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.