Truck Accidents 360 Newswire

MADRAS, OR – A man was seriously injured when his passenger car collided head-on with a semi trailer truck Wednesday night, may 26, 2010, in Jefferson County, Oregon. The truck accident left the 18 wheeler in flames and occurred about 5 miles north of Madras, OR in the northbound lanes of Highway 97 near mile marker 86. The area is in the central north section of the state, about 115 miles southeast of Portland, OR and about 180 miles north of Klamath Falls.

At around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday evening, 47 year old Balihar Singh of Sacramento, California was driving a 2008 Peterbilt semi truck pulling a trailer loaded with meat. Mr. Singh was headed south on the highway but as the truck driver was traveling near mile marker 86 he moved into the northbound lanes, directly in the path of oncoming traffic. At that a moment, 79 year old John Easterling of Madras was driving north on the highway in a Buick Park Avenue.

The drivers were unable to slow down or maneuver to avoid a collision, and the car and truck slammed into each other head-on. The impact of the truck accident damaged the semi trailer and it burst into flames.

According to later reports, the Buick may have been driving without its headlights on and drifting into the southbound lanes. The truck driver may not have seen the car until the last moment, and may have been attempting to avoid hitting the Buick by moving into the northbound lanes, but reportedly the Buick pulled back into its original lane and hit the truck head on.

The driver of the Buick, Mr. Easterling, was seriously injured in the truck accident. Local emergency personnel treated him at the scene and then took him via ambulance to nearby Mt. View Hospital in Madras. Mr. Easterling was later transported by Air Link medical helicopter to St. Charles Hospital in Bend, OR, about 45 miles away.

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The truck driver, Mr. Singh, was able to escape his burning semi trailer truck without injury.

Local firefighters arrived at the scene of the truck accident and fought the flames of the burning 18 wheeler, however the fire moved fast and the semi truck was destroyed, with major damage to the front section of the rig.

Oregon State Patrol and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene of the truck accident and shut down a section of the highway while EMTs aided the crash victim and highway crews cleared the wreckage of the head-on collision. Officials with the Oregon Department of Transportation were also on hand to help with the truck accident investigation.

The area of Highway 97 would remain closed for more than four hours before officials reopened all lanes to traffic.

At this time no charges have been made, and the truck accident remains under investigation.

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