Fatal Crash – Highway 97 – Klamath County - 06/24/26

KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. (23 June 2026) – On Monday, June 22, 2026, at 10:07 p.m., Oregon State Police responded to a fatal vehicle-versus-pedestrian crash on Highway 97 near milepost 200 in Klamath County.

The preliminary investigation indicated a white Freightliner commercial motor vehicle, operated by Larry Dotson (44) of Vicksburg (MS), was traveling southbound on Hwy. 97 near Chemult when it struck a pedestrian, Scott Henry Beggio (67) of Klamath Falls, who was standing in the southbound lane of travel. The pedestrian is believed to have been in the roadway attempting to catch his dog, which had run into the road.

The pedestrian (Beggio) was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The operator of the Freightliner (Dotson) was reportedly not injured.

The highway was impacted for approximately five hours during the on-scene investigation.

OSP was assisted by the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office, Chemult Rural Fire Protection District, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
 

# # #

About the Oregon State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) 
The Oregon State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) is a specialized unit responsible for investigating fatal and critical injury collisions on Oregon’s highways. The team provides expertise in documenting, investigating, and analyzing complex motor vehicle crashes and crime scenes. They receive specialized training in using advanced measuring techniques and small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) for on-scene investigations. The CRU team includes ACTAR-accredited collision reconstructionists and technical collision investigators deployed across the state.