A car driving in the wrong direction on I-5 in Oregon early this morning caused a serious crash involving three semi trucks.
The crash happened just before 2 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-5 at Highway 217 in Lake Oswego, according to KPTV.
According to police, 25 year old motorist Sydney Lopez Martinez was driving a passenger vehicle south in the northbound lanes of I-5 just before the crash. A semi truck driven by Oregon resident James Cropper was traveling in the middle lane of the interstate when he swerved to avoid the wrong way car. Cropper’s truck collided with another semi truck in the adjacent lane. Martinez’s car hit Cropper’s trailer and then hit another oncoming truck driven by California-based driver Dilpreet Singh head on.
None of the truck drivers were injured in the crash. Martinez suffered critical injuries and was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital.
Firefighters extricated driver from veh vs. semi crash on I-5 NB at Carman Dr on-ramp. Driver of vehicle sustained traumatic injuries & was transported by @LifeFlightNtwrk to a local hospital. Semi-truck driver was not injured. @ORStatePolice on scene investigating cause. pic.twitter.com/uNhIVXJJwv
— TVF&R (@TVFR) March 30, 2018
Oregon State Police believe that alcohol was a factor in the crash, which is still under investigation.
The crash caused four mile long traffic backups. Though officials were able to reopen a singe lane of northbound I-5 around 6 a.m., a secondary crash involving three vehicles happened in the slowed traffic around 6;30, worsening the traffic jam. No one was hurt in this crash.
