Driver killed in collision with dump truck

NEAR SCAPPOOSE, Ore. - Oregon State Police are investigating a fatal crash that occurred on Highway 30 Friday morning.

OSP investigators said a 2005 Dodge Neon going south on Highway 30 crossed into the northbound lanes and struck a dump truck hauling a trailer head-on.

The driver of the car, identified as Dennis Gump, 53, died at the scene and the truck driver had to be taken to a hospital but is expected to recover. The crash took place at about 6:40 a.m.

Police said there were reports of a car driving erratically on the highway before the crash took place. Police said they were told Gump was driving to work in Portland from St. Helens at the time.

Witnesses said Gump didn’t just swerve into traffic but that he actually made a 90-degree turn from the southbound lane across three lanes of traffic and into the northbound lane.

The crash took place at about milepost 15, near where Rocky Point Road meets Highway 30 about four miles south of Scappoose.

The crash closed both northbound lanes of the highway and one southbound lane while crews worked to clear the scene and investigators looked for a reason the car crossed the centerline.

Police said there was no evidence that alcohol was a factor in the crash.

KATU News reporter Valerie Hurst contributed to this report.