Eugene , OR : One Person injured in Crash and driver of burning jumped from vehicle after hit by falling debris from the car along I- 105 on Tursday ,March 12th 2015

woman reported missing earlier this week crashed her burning car Thursday on the Washington-Jefferson Bridge, exited the car engulfed in flames and jumped off the bridge 40 feet to the ground below, police said.

A second person suffered unknown injuries, hit by falling debris from the car or bridge.

Police identified the driver of the burning car as Mary Johanna Gawenda, 39.

Police said Gawenda was reported missing on Tuesday.

Witnesses told police the car appeared to be on fire as it drove south on I-105 over the bridge toward 6th Avenue around 12:30 p.m.

"The vehicle appeared to be driving recklessly and potentially on fire on the inside of the vehicle," Lt. Doug Mozan said.

Mozan said the car hit the bridge guardrail above the W-J Skatepark, then continued on the Washington-Jefferson Bridge past the railroad tracks before coming to a stop.

That's when the driver got out.

"Witnesses report that she was on fire and stripping and ran southbound on the bridge before eventually intentionally jumping off the bridge," Mozan said.

The woman fell 40 feet to the ground below.

Medics rushed her to Sacred Hearth Medical Center at RiverBend with injuries Mozan described as "life-threatening." She was later transported to Portland for burn treatment.

A second person below the bridge was hit by either car or bridge parts. Medics took that person to Sacred Heart University District for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

Mozan said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

"I believe it was intentionally set on fire but at this point we're still investigating, I think according to witnesses she was spreading some sort of propellant but it's hard to say what exactly that was and I saw personally the burn damage was extensive," he said.

The crash response closed 2 of the 3 lanes on the Washington-Jefferson Bridge, slowing traffic to a crawl for hours.



source :
Police: Woman on fire crashes burning car, jumps off Eugene bridge