Semi-truck fires close I-84 Friday

By KATU.com Staff and News Sources Published: Nov 28, 2010 at 1:50 PM PDT
A semi truck on fire on Interstate 84 east of The Dalles Friday night
Photo of a semi truck on fire on Interstate 84 east of The Dalles Friday night, courtesy of Oregon State Police.

THE DALLES, Ore. – Interstate 84 near the John Day River was closed for about 7 1/2 hours Friday night after a crash involving several vehicles including three semi trucks that caught fire and burned. 

Oregon State Police Sergeant Pat Shortt says that around 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 26,  a white Nissan XTerra driven by a 21-year-old Walla Walla woman was traveling eastbound on I-84 near milepost 113. 

"Roadways in the area were extremely icy due to freezing rain," state police report.

The Nissan XTerra lost control on the icy roadway, spun around and came to a stop in the slow lane of the freeway. A passenger in the white XTerra, a 27 year old form Mt. Vernon, N.Y., got out of the vehicle to check on the other occupants. 

An eastbound semi truck towing an empty trailer then lost control on the icy roadway and struck the Nissan, which in turn struck the 27 year old – Alejandro Ortega-Soriana. The semi truck was being driven by a 43-year-old truck driver from Avondale, Ariz.

The semi truck then jackknifed, completely" blocking the eastbound lanes of the freeway," according to police reports. 

That's when a white 2000 Subaru station wagon – driven by a 60-year-old woman from Irrigon, Ore. – heading eastbound slid into the jackknifed semi truck. 

The Subara driver "reacted quickly and was able to back her car away from the crash scene before she was struck by any other vehicles," police report.

Two more westbound semi trucks – one operated by a 32-year-old man from Sacramento, Calif., and the other by a 31-year-old man from Tucson, Ariz. – slid into the crash scene and collided with the first jackknifed semi truck.

"The three semi trucks came to a rest, blocking the eastbound lanes of the freeway, and caught fire," state police report. "All three semi trucks were fully engulfed by fire and completely destroyed."

Ortega-Soriana and the truck driver who first jackknifed were taken to Mid Columbia Medical Center for treatment of what is being described as "non-life threatening injuries."

Both westbound and eastbound lanes of travel were blocked while emergency crews attempted to extinguish the burning vehicles and clear the scene of wreckage.  State troopers were assisted at the scene by the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Gilliam County Sheriff's Office, the Rufus Fire Department and Sherman County Fire and Rescue.