Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Wrong-way driver killed in massive fiery crash with salmon truck in Oregon


BIGGS JUNCTION, OREGON

A Hermiston man who was driving the wrong way on Interstate 84 Monday night died after his SUV crashed into a commercial truck full of freshly harvested salmon.

Tyler Brown, 25, was driving a Jeep Cherokee eastbound on westbound lanes of I-84 about 10 miles east of Biggs Junction. Oregon State Police said they received reports of the wrong-way driver around 11:15 p.m.

A short time later, Brown's SUV crashed into a commercial truck carrying salmon. Both the SUV and commercial truck ignited in flames but the truck's driver, 61-year-old Michael McCright of Redmond, escaped unharmed.


Brown died at the scene. Police said it was not clear why he was driving the wrong way.

The Oregon Department of Transportation and two local fire departments spent hours trying to extinguish the fire from the burning truck and its cargo of fish. The highway was closed for nearly four hours and cleanup continued into Tuesday, with one lane open in each direction.