Rock Falls woman dies after driving into Rock River

Members of the Ogle County Sheriff,Aeos Department, Byron Fire Department, and Oregon Fire Department carry Doris A. Portner, 72, Rock Falls, up the bank of the Rock River to a waiting ambulance crew. Paramedics performed CPR in an attempt to save her life. Portner was pronounced dead at Rockford Memorial Hospital. (Chris Johnson/OCN photo)

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OREGON - A 72-year-old Rock Falls woman drowned Thursday morning when her car missed a curve, plunged into the Rock River and sank in about 10 feet of water, Ogle County Sheriff Greg Beitel said. Doris A. Portner was traveling on state Route 2 about 5 miles north of Oregon about 9:15 a.m. "According to a witness who was in a vehicle behind her, she didn't appear to be driving erratically and wasn't speeding," Beitel said. "She just missed the left-hand curve, went off the road through a grassy area, down a steep bank and into the river. "She was conscious and, according to the witness, was trying to get out of the vehicle. The car sank fast," Beitel said. The swift current pushed the four-door Oldsmobile about 50 feet downstream, making it difficult for divers to find it in the murky water. Once they did, divers hooked a cable onto the back bumper and the car was dragged nearer to shore, where they could get inside safely. "Divers broke out the rear window and she was removed," Beitel said. "She was treated briefly by medical personnel and then flown to Rockford Memorial Hospital by the REACT helicopter," where she was declared dead. An autopsy is planned today. Route 2 was closed between Mud Creek Road and Byron for about 90 minutes while rescue workers attended to the accident and the helicopter landed on the roadway.