Driver hurt when car smashes into trailer on Hwy 99
NEAR SHERWOOD, Ore. - An injured driver was airlifted to a hospital Wednesday morning after their car smashed into a trailer being towed by a dump truck.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office said the crash took place at about 6:45 a.m. when the driver hit the rear of a utility trailer near Garland Road and Highway 99 between Sherwood and Newberg.
The car became impaled on the trailer and was dragged a short distance, deputies said. Rescue crews were able to extricate the driver from the smashed car and deputies said the driver has life-threatening injuries.
The driver has not been identified and the cause of the crash is under investigation by the Oregon State Police. No one else was in the car. Deputies did not say if the dump truck driver was hurt.
A KATU photographer said there was no snow or ice on the roadway near the site of the crash.
Northbound lanes of Highway 99 were closed for a short time while a helicopter landed and the crash was cleared.
This story will be updated.
If the truck driver pulled out of a private road entering 99W at a farily good clip, it's possible the driver of the passenger car didn't have time to slow down/stop in time. Let's not make assumptions people.  Although, I usually try to keep two car lengths between me and the vehicle in front of me, it's almost impossible to do on this streach of the road. I am very familar with it and people change lanes constantly, weaving back and forth pretty much all the way between Newberg and Sherwood.Â
The truck driver was pulling out of a private road entering 99w NB when passenger vehicle hit rear of trailer. NO texting or phone use, both of the drivers are listed as 65 yrs. old and live in the Newberg/Garland Rd. area. female driver for the passenger vehicle
First...NOT a dump truck, it's a retrieval vehicle used by wrecking yard companies...secondly, "no one else was in the car, yet "after THEIR  car smashed", indicating there was a passenger.... More good reporting.......
I have seen many construction trailers with no tailights working for years and years as a driver and I have come close a couple of times ..I wonder if the trailer had working lights ?Â
I'd hazard a guess that a cell phone was involved.
The driver of the 'following' vehicle is the only one who is responsible for not crashing into the 'leading' vehicle', no one else.
As the driver of a small car, I see these types of trailers & the super-tall jacked up pickup trucks/suvs where the bumpers are nearly at my eye level as I'm driving & quite frankly, they scare me for exactly this reason. At least the semi-trailers have the drop-down pseudo-bumper that is closer to the bumper level of the average car & could probably prevent the vehicle from getting the top shaved off if it rear-ended the trailer. There is nothing on these taller equipment trailers or the truck/suvs to stop a small car from going halfway under in the event of a rear-end collision.
99% of rear end crashes are avoidible. You have more control of the space in front of you than anywhere else. Katie I would suggest you buy a bigger car if you are scared of big trucks because they will not get any smaller. People please put down the cell phone, make up, news paper, or hamburger and drive. Give trucks the space they deserve because when there is a crash you will lose every time.
Never ceases to amaze me to see things like this. I tend to always keep 2 car lengths open in front of me just because you never know. There's always some idiot out there darting in front of others, I figure if I leave 2 car lengths open then even if they do dart in front of me Ive got plently of room, plus if someone suddenly slams on the breaks Im still good. And I never, EVER take my eyes off the road. Heck I rarely take my eyes off the road when Im a passenger in a vechicle, even if Im talking to someone I keep my eyes focused on the road. Like others have said, its just too damned dangerous to take your eyes off the road these days..
 @katiemcc If you keep a reasonable distance from these vehicles ,it should not scare you.. Tailgating gets people killed..there just isn't enough time to react and stop in time.. Tailgating is a major problem on the roads, hwy's,
and freeways..
We talk like this was an obvious mistake but let's all remember that it could have been any of us. Driving is generally dangerous. No one is really safe.
Ouch! Don't do *that* again!
Yikes! What a scary accident. I hope the driver who was injured a full and speedy recovery. It'll be interesting to see what caused the accident. Could've been a distracted driver, could've been no lights on the trailer; hard to say, but what a reminder to be careful on dark rainy roads.
Kinda hard to miss, isn't it?Â
@washcomom It doesnt look like they missed it.
Following to close was he? I see morons following way to close.. I guess this guy will have learned his lesson and will keep his distance next time..Tail-gating Not cool.
Yes, on cell phone - looking down Texting. I bet this is the cause.
Updating twitter that he was having a bad hair day.
Lack of attention once again seems to be the culprit.
I am surprised he isn't dead.
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A low trailer with a significant overhang is a recipe for disaster for those who are not watching out while driving.
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Was this guy just not paying attention or maybe texting? It seems pretty obvious that something was diverting his attention.
that could have caused a real splitting head ache
Brakes? Brake lights or lack of? Or was someone playing with their cell phone?