Woman out of hospital after head-on crash with wrong-way truck driver
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PORTLAND, Ore. -- A 24-year-old woman was out of the hospital just hours after she was hit by an oncoming tractor-trailer driver barreling the wrong way along the Interstate 205 bridge on Monday morning.
Katherine M. Emerson was rushed to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center. By noon, the Vancouver woman had been discharged.
Contacted by KATU on Monday at her grandparents' house in Vancouver, Emerson said she was sore and shaken up from the crash. She had no visible scars and was able to stand and move around.
The driver, Kenneth E. Burgess, 49, whom police said was intoxicated during the crash, was arrested on suspicion of DUII, two counts of second-degree criminal mischief and reckless driving.
The crash snarled traffic for hours during the morning commute on I-205, Highway 14 in Vancouver and also tangled up Interstate 5 between Vancouver and Portland. All lanes of traffic on the I-205 bridge opened at about 10:30 a.m.
"It took me two hours just to get down Highway 14 to the I-5 bridge," said Matt Corneliuz.
The situation started just before 4:30 a.m., as Portland police officers began receiving reports that a driver of a tractor-trailer was heading the wrong way on Interstate 84.
Multnomah County sheriff's deputies began pursuing the truck westbound, which continued onto the I-205 bridge.
That's when the truck slammed into an oncoming vehicle -- driven by Emerson - on the bridge, just south of Vancouver.
A Portland police vehicle was damaged by crash debris and was towed from the scene.
A spokesman for TWT Refrigerated Service in Spokane, Wash., the company that operates the tractor-trailer, declined comment, citing the active investigation.
Burgess is from Medical Lake, Wash.
"I hope they pull his license and never let him drive again, to tell you the truth," said former truck driver Kerry Mortell. "It's absolutely ridiculous, what you can do when you're carrying a hundred thousand pounds. The damage you can do in one of those is absolutely insane."
 I'm curious why she took the semi head on? The Glenn Jackson is 4 lanes wide with 2 full shoulders....
Amazing she survived, just curious why she didn't avoid the head on like every other person for the previous 20 miles he was going the wrong way???he got 4 charges against him. Â http://pdxmugshots.com/mug/kenneth-eugene-burgess
A front-row seat to the greatest show on earth as a cop - 29.5 years of watching thee most stupid folks on this planet and now I get to read about it.Â
Very glad that Miss Emerson is alive and very sore! From picture of her car, it's amazing that she made it out of that car alive.
@Sunny Why are you glad that she's very sore?
@badcat @Sunny I'm with you on that query. Perhaps being sore is better than the alternative?
@Gravity Works! @badcat @Sunny I agree; being sore means her spinal cord is intact. In this case, being sore is way better than the alternative.
So classy that KATU sent a reporter to disturb her at her grandparents' house just hours after she got into a crazy accident. That's courageous reporting right there, tracking victims down at home, banging on their door, dragging them out of bed, demanding statements, pretending to care about anything other than ratings. I guess Joe English is willing to do just about anything, since so many of his colleagues have been fired lately, and he can't even afford to have someone hem his jacket sleeves to fit.
How dare you complain!! Why don't you understand that this is for RATINGS!! The Ratings means people are watching and then they in turn buy products that are advertised on KATU and thus in turn, they spend MORE to advertise and thus the newscasters get BIGGER paychecks and thus, the wheel is greased. Â
Don't meddle with the PRIMAL FORCES OF NATURE!!
So glad Miss Emerson is ok!!
The truck driver should have his license revoked, in addition to serving time. What he did is absolutely inexcusable.
@lawenla you get your wish, that driver will be blackballed from ever driving anything again! He wont even be cleared to drive a taxi!Â
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@feral In that case, his health insurance should cover his bar tab. Well, except for a $20 co-pay.
@badcat  You are so bad!
I'm aware of the law, thank you.
The truck driver needs help for his "disease" ... and you can't argue that.
I need to remember "thought virus". Haven't heard that one before, and it's a good one!
Miss Emerson should buy a Loto ticket! I am amazed she is ok and happy she is, Gods got big plans for you!
@Ghostcapt I also think Honda should use her car and story in an ad and, in exchange, give her a free car!  I swear that is a testament to the engineering and design of a *good* car when it works properly.
@CTWUÂ @Ghostcapt Doesn't even have to be Honda. From the looks of it, any car company could claim that pile of scrap as their own.
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@feral Only on the bumper sticker: Moses shoots, he misses! Jesus saves . . . . he shoots . . . . he scores!
@feral @Josh Johnshum @Ghostcapt When he misses.
I still wonder when you realize you are the one going the wrong way instead of all the idiots coming toward you?
Reminds me of the guy who was driving on the highway and his wife calls him:
"Honey, be careful! They said on the news that there's a wrong way driver on the highway!"
Man replies "Honey, it's not one it's HUNDREDS!!"
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@Josh Johnshum So it dawns on you when dawn is on you?
@badcat I knew a Dawn years ago . . . . She was . . . . well, never mind. And I won't drag the simile any further, re: your comment. LOL
@tally Probably at the time you sober up.
Job opening
DOUCH!!!!!!
@Common Sence What's a douch?
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@feral I'm guessing it didn't work.....? Â
Really? Â Hahaha! Â I was being snarky.
It's unbelievable this woman is okay she must have a guardian angel looking out for her.
Wow, I want to know what kind of car she drives!!!  I'm gonna get me one of those!
@tcm 2002 red Honda Civic
Oregonlive and KGW have much better coverage and pictures.
Some people were wondering how he could have gotten on the road going the wrong way. I'd posted this down below, but I know that the comments way at the bottom tend to hide and not be seen.
You would be amazed how many truck drivers come out of the stops there on the Frontage Road in Troutdale and turn the wrong way down the road. They've put up a whole bunch of one way signs so that they're at all the driveways, but it still happens. Last year I had to swerve to avoid one myself. You'd have thought he'd have clued in that every single lane had traffic coming his way (unlike with this idiot up top, this was during the day and the road was busy).
If you continue down the Frontage Road, it would be pretty easy to just get onto the freeway going the wrong way.
Very lucky young lady.
So why aren't they looking at charging him with attempted manslaughter or attempted murder? Â And how come police didn't seem to do much to notify drivers or to try and stop him somehow? Â Any interstate charges possibly pending since he crossed the bridge? Â And bail is only $10,000...
@CTWUÂ Drunk driving is a slap on the hand in this area. Â Too bad lawmakers do not get the message.
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@feral @CTWU Clearly you voted for Obama.  Nothing you speak makes any sense.
@feral @Common Sence @CTWU Lol!
@feral Nice troll. Shame, really, that anyone responded.
@feral @CTWU "He was intoxicated, it wasn't intentional. This man has an illness and needs treatment."
Does that logic apply to pedophilia, larceny, incest, rape, bank robbery, and on and on?
Honestly, it is an issue that I struggle with -- what really is a treatable mental illness or disease vs. a choice. Â I'm glad the woman wasn't hurt more seriously than she was. Â Its disappointing that there wasn't another semi aware of the situation and willing to "cause" an accident to stop the jerk who was driving.
Plus, if he has a drinking problem, I would think his employer would and should already know about this based on his personal driving history and his lifestyle on and off the job. Â That would make them even more culpable than if this happened to be a one-time event for the man. Â Similarly, any friend, co-worker, or family member has a certain degree of responsibility for not pointing out how dangerous this man could be while on a binge or on a daily basis.
@feral I actually watched some of the ODOT video of the guy (KPTV, I think).  He HAD to have known he was doing something wrong.  There were police behind and in front of him at various times.  I'm sure cars were honking and probably flashing their lights at him.  Other semis in the area might have even been trying to get ahold of him or his dispatchers.  He had plenty of time to slow down or stop.  He appeared  to mostly be going freeway speeds.  He had to have seen the cars moving out of his way.
He looked like he was on a mission to kill as many people as he could take out. Â And definitely showed reckless abandon for life or property in his attempt to do whatever it was he was hell-bent on doing.
@feral @CTWU Give me a break...Portland isn't a city of whiners...choices...that's what we can make. If you get that drunk, then you obviously know there's a problem. You get the help you know you need. It's your choice to not do that. No sympathies here...he almost takes a life, he's most definitely lost his job, more than likely won't be able to get unemployment...he's screwed because he didn't make the right choice.
@feral@CTWU I'm sure he probably intentionally got intoxicated. He's getting his treatment. He will sober up nicely in jail.Â
What kind of car was she driving? And what evasive maneuvers did she make? WHAT AN INCREDIBLY LUCKY LADY!!Â
And a nitwit for a truck driver. Makes me MADD!
Drunk and driving a tractor trailer the wrong way on a freeway? Â This could have been so much worse.
Hopefully the young woman will be 100% ok.
this guy needs serious jail time.
@From the OCÂ
Especially since the first reports came in east of Wood Village, so he drove the wrong way down I-84 for some time before getting onto I-205. Good thing it was so early in the morning and fewer cars on the road.
I was absolutely shocked to hear that she had been released from the hospital. What a lucky lady to have not only survived that crash, but without serious injury.
Damn...looking at those pics, it's hard to identify that twisted / shredded pile of metal as a CAR; let alone what kind it was..! Â I never would have imagined that anyone would have survived that crash...
Soooo glad that Ms Emerson is OK...  Ms Emerson, if you were a cat, I would say that you used up about 8 of your 9 lives in this one..!   Very best wishes  to you; hoping you'll get whatever help you might need to move on from a very traumatic event...  :-)
Again, put in those wrong-way spikes.
@Mikey I like the idea, however, besides being a truck driver, I have also been a firefighter/EMT for 18+ years, and sometimes we have to drive the wrong way on a roadway.  I might be a little off, but I think it wouldn't do any good to have LE/FD/EMS's tires go flat when going to a crash... :)
@Mikey we  shouldn't have to spend our tax dollars on spikes so that drunken idiots know they are going the wrong way. otherwise... a good idea.
@NWnative We shouldn't have to be burying people because some idiot decides it's OK to drive drunk, either. I'd rather spend tax dollars saving lives than pretty much anything else.
@Jenni S. As for emergency vehicles, etc., there's no reason they couldn't be fitted with a method of retracting the spikes when necessary.Â
@NWnative @Mikey The highway reflectors already show red when seen from the wrong direction. It should be enough of a clue for a "professional" driver. Of course, this guy'll be seeking a new profession.
@NWnative @MikeyÂ
Not only that, but they tend to get in the way when emergency vehicles have to enter a roadway going up the wrong-way ramp, when traffic has to be diverted off a freeway down the wrong-way ramp, etc.Â
Not only that, but the vehicle is still driveable for just a bit. It'll just end up in the traffic lanes where it can still cause problems.