Rock Falls woman dies after driving into Rock River

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