Hit-and-run death off Hwy. 26 leaves daughters at loss

RHODODENDRON, Ore. – A mysterious death on Highway 26 leaves one daughter heart-broken and the other daughter questioned by police.

Brooke Daniels got the heart-breaking call early Friday morning that her mother, 52-year-old Bridget McGowan, was found dead on Highway 26 near Rhododendron late Thursday night.

Witnesses said McGowan fell from a truck that was driven by Daniels' 22-year-old sister.

Meanwhile, Brooke Daniels is back home – not sure what to think about the whole thing. "I'm praying it was an accident," Daniels said.

Police stopped a truck matching vehicle's description east of the town of Sandy, Ore., and questioned Brooke's sister and the boyfriend. Officers said the two are cooperating with the investigation.

Meanwhile, Brooke Daniels gives KATU the back story. She said her mother invited the two to her cabin near the site of the accident.

"They were taking a vacation up at Mount Hood, staying the week at a cabin," Daniels said.

She believes her mother and her sister had an argument, and then her sister and boyfriend left the cabin and took off in the truck.

"My mom went outside after them," Daniels said, "and that was the last time [anyone] saw her" alive.

A witness, Rick Applegate, said he saw a pickup moving forward - then backward - with the passenger door open in the cabin's parking strip.
     
The truck reportedly "pulled out to the highway and made a sharp right turn," Applegate said. "That's when she fell out, when the truck made the sharp right turn."

Police stopped the truck east of Sandy, Ore. They say McGowan's daughter was driving, with her boyfriend in the passenger seat.

Police said they have questioned the two. An Oregon State Police spokesperson said the couple has not been arrested and neither are considered suspects. Both are apparently cooperating with the investigation.

However, Oregon State Police are still investigating McGowan's death. Brooke Daniels said she has tried to contact her sister to find out exactly what happened, but as of the time of our interview she had yet to hear back.

So while one daughter has a lot of explaining to do, both have a mother-daughter bond that is now irreparably broken: "I talked to her every day," Daniels told KATU. "She was like my best friend."

One of the hardest parts for Daniels, she said, is that "if she hadn't ran outside, she'd still be here."

"She's just the most amazing caring loving person I've ever met," Daniels said.