School clerk dies in crash
newsroom@idahopress.com
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Editor's note: A press release from the Oregon State Police incorrectly stated Elijah Jensen is 19 years old. He is actually 29 years old. The information has been changed in the online story, and the Idaho Press-Tribune will publish a correction in Wednesday's print edition.
LA GRANDE, Ore. — A Nampa woman who worked for two Nampa charter schools died Sunday in a rollover crash that also seriously injured her husband and sons.
Karen Kristine "Kris" Jensen, 51, died in a single vehicle crash on Interstate 84 east of La Grande about 2 p.m. Sunday, according to Oregon State Police. Jens Jensen, Karen's husband, and her sons Noah Jensen, 20, and Elijah Jensen, 29, suffered serious injuries after the crash ejected them from the family's 2003 Ford Explorer.
Police say driver fatigue may have contributed to the fatal crash. The vehicle drifted onto the right gravel shoulder and struck a highway marker, then veered into the center median where it rolled, officials said.
The three injured men went by air ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise for treatment.
As of Monday night, both Jens and Elijah Jensen remained in serious condition, while Noah Jensen was in fair condition.
Oregon State Police troopers from the La Grande area command office are continuing the investigation.
Officials said it's unclear whether any of the occupants had seat belts on at the time of the crash.
Schools acknowledge woman's work
Karen Jensen served as a clerk for Liberty and Victory charter school boards and as secretary for Liberty. She also worked in several capacities at both schools for many years, according to Liberty Charter School's Web site.
Bart McKnight, chairman of Liberty's school board, said he has worked with Jensen for several years and called both her and her husband "lifelong friends."
"Kris (Jensen) was a vibrant individual always ready to help others, to be kind and considerate. She was very capable of doing any job that we gave to her, and always did it with a smile and with the understanding that it would be done," McKnight said.
The home page of Nampa's Liberty Charter School Web site displayed a note Monday from school administrators and school board members expressing their regret and sorrow at the death of Jensen, whom the note described as "an integral colleague."
"She will be terribly missed, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family as they deal with this tragedy," the note read.
School officials created a bank account through U.S. Bank for donations to help with the family's medical expenses. For more information on how to donate, visit libertycharterschool.com.










