‘Every parent’s worst nightmare’: Oregon family mourns daughter killed by distracted driver

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- A 21-year-old woman is dead after a crash involving a distracted driver. Beaverton police say it happened Saturday on Highway 217, just days before the woman’s 22nd birthday. State data shows a distraction-related crash happens every 2.5 hours in Oregon. But for Diana Minko’s family, that statistic is now a devastating reality. They say the devoted daughter, sister of five, and Portland State University student lit up a room and loved "fiercely," telling KOIN 6 News the loss of Minko's life could have been prevented. “To stand at her bedside and to hear what stupid, stupid behavior led to this… it’s just not worth it –a cell phone is not worth it," Minko's parent Jessica Altman-Pollack said. Wearing her daughter’s necklace, her parents now hold close what she left behind -- a life that was just beginning. They say the 21-year-old – a voracious reader and an aspiring neuropsychologist — was driving home from her new job at the Washington Square Mall when a distracted driver rear-ended her car on Highway 217. Beaverton police say the driver dropped his phone, looked down to grab it. By the time he looked back up, it was too late. Diana was rushed to OHSU's ICU with a traumatic brain injury and severe organ damage. Her family followed close after. “I just knew that our daughter was gone," Diana's parent Loretta Altman-Pollack recalled. "Everything she was and for what reason? She was 13 days before her 22nd birthday … we just held onto her hand and told her we were there, even though she wasn't there anymore.” The family says they’re living “every parent’s worst nightmare” and they’re not alone. State data shows distracted driving caused nearly 200 deaths in Oregon over a five-year span, with more than 26,000 crashes linked to driver inattention. A fundraiser for the family has already raised thousands to help cover medical and funeral costs. Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this story.