MAY 21, 2015
PORTLAND, OREGON
A driver was killed and another was injured Wednesday night
in a crash involving a semi-truck and a van, Portland police said.
The driver of the van, Jared Daniel Mack, 37, of North
Portland, died at the scene.
Both vehicles caught fire in the crash on Northeast Columbia
Boulevard and 17th Avenue. The crash was reported at 9:13 p.m.
Witnesses told police Mack's driving was erratic as he was
heading west on Columbia Boulevard. He crossed the middle turn lane and struck
the semi head-on.
The truck's driver, 54-year-old Mike Robertson Harp, of
Tillamook, was critically injured in the crash.
The semi-truck was carrying mail for the U.S. Postal
Service.
Jose Hernandez and his father were driving in the area when
they saw the flames from the burning vehicles. They rushed over and heard the
driver of the semi screaming. Harp was still trapped inside the truck.
Risking injury to themselves, they ran up to the burning cab
to try and get Harp out.
"I wasn't scared," Hernandez said. "I saw the
guy yelling and screaming. I told my dad we've got to help him. ... Even if we
aren't able to get him out, we should at least try."
Hernandez said he ran to see if he could help the driver of
the van, but it was too late.
Smoke still billowed from the destroyed cab almost two hours
after the crash.
Several people who work in the area said they heard a boom
from several blocks away. One man said it even rocked his warehouse.
Harp was taken to a hospital where he remains in critical
condition.
All traffic on Columbia Boulevard is blocked between 15th
and 24th avenues, police said.
The crash is under investigation, but investigators said
speed may have been a factor. Police have not released the names of the
victims.