UPDATE: I-84 crash takes one life

TRAFFIC ALERT

UPDATE: From Oregon State Police at 2:50 p.m. 9-29:

I-84 crash kills one

UMATILLA COUNTY – The Oregon State Police reports it responded to a report of a crash involving two commercial motor vehicles near milepost 226 on Interstate 84 eastbound.

OSP’s preliminary investigation indicated that a CMV operated by Ruslan Basarab, 49, of Renton was traveling in the slow lane when it struck the rear of Peterbilt commercial vehicle and trailer operated by Francisco Rivera Atilano Jr., 20, of Hermiston.

The CMV operated by Basarab caught fire as a result of the collision and burned so badly it was unidentifiable. Basarab was removed from the vehicle and was declared deceased after being transported to an area hospital.

Atilano was not injured. The highway was impacted for several hours. OSP was assisted by the Umatilla Tribal Police Department, Umatilla Tribal Fire Department, and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Update from ODOT as of 6:04am: I-84 eastbound lanes in eastern Oregon are now open. They were closed between Exit 216 east of Pendleton to Exit 265 east of La Grande from before 9 p.m. last night to 5 a.m. this morning due to a truck crash near milepost 226.

Update as of 5:35am (Friday, Sept 29) After being reported as closed throughout the night and am hours, Tripcheck is now reporting that the eastbound lanes of I-84 between Pendleton and La Grande are open

Update from ODOT as of 9:15pm
ODOT: East. Ore.: I-84 is closed eastbound at Exit 216, 7 miles east of Pendleton due truck crash near milepost 226.

Update: We are being told by those in the area that a vehicle fire is the cause of the standstill.

Travelers are reporting that traffic is at a standstill on I-84 eastbound near Deadman Pass. We have no further details at this time.

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Elkhorn Media Group

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