Icy conditions possibly to blame for Baker County CMV crash and highway closure

By on Thursday, December 28th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

BAKER COUNTY – The Pacific Northwest may only be a week into winter according to the calendar, but inclement weather and icy conditions are continuing to cause havoc. On Thursday, December 21, at approximately 07:50 a.m., the Oregon State Police responded to a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crash at Milepost 309 Eastbound. The crash, which, coincidently, occurred directly in view of an ODOT road camera, resulted in a multi hour-long closure. The full description of the incident, as written by the OSP, is as follows:

“The driver of a CMV (Tractor-semi-trailer combo) lost control on the possible icy roadway. The CMV exited the roadway by way of the right shoulder and traveled approximately 380 feet on the roadside before coming back up onto the roadway. The CMV then rolled onto its right side and then came to an uncontrolled rest with the tractor and semi-trailer blocking both of the eastbound lanes of travel.

Approximately 120 ft of cable barrier and 30 ft of guardrail and several fog markers were damaged during the crash. The CMV was dragged by a tow truck to open the B lane. The A lane was closed for several hours to remove the CMV. NO Hazmat was released during the crash. The driver and co-driver were transported by ambulance to the hospital for evaluation. The driver and co-driver were coherent at the scene and at the hospital. ODOT and Baker Fire assisted at the scene. No citations were issued.”