Wrecked semi-truck shuts down I-84 for multiple hours on February 9

By on Wednesday, February 12th, 2025 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

MEACHAM – At around 3:53 p.m. on Sunday, February 9, a semi-truck lost control and crashed near milepost 236 Westbound, just northwest of Meacham, resulting in a multi-hour closure of the Westbound lanes. The Oregon State Police has since released additional information on the crash, offering the following description in a recent press log:

“On February 9, 2025, at approximately 3:53 PM, Multiple crashes were called into OSP dispatch between 1-84 MP 236-228 W/B. This incident occurred at MP 236 westbound. The driver lost control and struck the median cable barrier, destroying approximately 100′. Due to the circumstances of how the semi ended up on top of the cable barrier, it required two tow companies over 5 hours for removal. The freeway westbound was closed until this was removed. The driver was cited for failure to drive within lane.”

Following the initial crash, I-84 Westbound was fully closed between Pendleton and La Grande (Milepost 265-224) by approximately 5:00 p.m., with the closure extending to Baker City by 6:10 p.m. and eventually being closed to trucks as far as Ontario by around 7:00 p.m. that evening. The Westbound lanes remain closed until the early morning hours of Monday, February 10. 

As mentioned by OSP, several other crashes were reported along I-84 on February 9, though none caused any comparable disruption. At around 10:00 a.m., a Westbound Toyota Tundra slid off the roadway into the median, getting stuck in the snow near milepost 231. At around 3:54, a Westbound Chevy pickup pulling a car hauler trailer rear ended a slow-moving semi-truck near Milepost 230. Later in the evening at around 6:30 p.m., an Eastbound tractor-trailer reportedly bypassed multiple chain up zones before attempting to pull over and chain up near milepost 229, sliding into the back of another, unknown, commercial motor vehicle.

With temperatures expected to remain well below freezing through Friday morning, and likely below freezing at night through Sunday, drivers are reminded to slow down to match conditions and increase following distance between vehicles. Ice and packed snow can easily result in a loss of control at standard highway speeds and greatly increase the stopping distance of vehicles. 

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(Photo provided by Emily S. Johnson.)