OSP provides details of Wednesday’s I-84 closure
By Terry Murry on Thursday, July 4th, 2024 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – No one was injured in a crash that sparked a brush fire Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 84 eastbound at milepost 227. Oregon State Police reports that the drivers of the two involved vehicles were from out of state.
The drivers are identified as Francisco M. Zavala, 46, of Toppenish, Wash. and Zane Scott Morgan, 68, of Weiser, Idaho. It appears, but is not definitively stated in the report, that Morgan was the driver of a commercial motor vehicle that was rear-ended by a black Mercedes sedan driven by Zavala.
The responding trooper said that the sedan failed to slow down to avoid the tractor/trailer until it was too late. The sedan crashed into the guardrail and caught on fire. The driver escaped the vehicle before the fire started.
Umatilla Tribal Fire Department extinguished the vehicle fire, backed up by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The trooper reports that the two agencies combined forces to also extinguish a brush fire caused by the burning vehicle. In addition OSP was assisted by Umatilla Tribal Police and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
The trooper gave the driver of the Mercedes a courtesy ride to Wildhorse Resort & Casino.
Editor’s note: We have requested more information from OSP and will update this story when it becomes available.
