July 18, 2008

Accident leaves one dead



     One person was killed and two others injured Wednesday evening in a collision involving two commercial vehicles on Interstate 84 in the Hood River area as traffic was stopped for a temporary freeway closure due to a fire west of The Dalles.
     According to a news release from the Oregon State Police, the accident took place at approximately 7:10 p.m. when eastbound Interstate 84 traffic was stopped due to a freeway closure in the Hood River area with signs posted advising of the closure. A Volvo truck pulling a semi-trailer was stopped in the right hand eastbound lane near milepost 62 behind the long line of other stopped traffic.
     An eastbound 2006 International truck pulling a semi-trailer loaded with shoes was approaching the stopped eastbound traffic when its driver, Robert Loeh, age 49, from Illinois, failed to stop and swerved to the right to avoid the stopped Volvo truck and semi-trailer. The left side of the International truck struck the right rear corner of the semi-trailer, splitting open the side of the truck.
     After impact, the International truck and semi-trailer continued off the right side of the eastbound lanes and up an embankment where a passenger in the sleeper berth was ejected out of the truck. The semi-trailer overturned onto its side, spilling the load of shoes onto the shoulder and toward the eastbound lanes. The truck remained upright as it came to a stop.
     The 47-year old male passenger, Kerry Ray Boatman, from Marshall, Michigan, was pronounced dead at the scene.
     Loeh received non-life threatening injuries and was transported by ambulance to Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital.
     The driver of the Volvo truck, Armin Ghorbanpoor, 21, from British Columbia, received minor injuries and was transported to Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, where was treated and released.
     Both drivers were using safety restraints.
     Troopers and officers at the scene reported several people in the area were caught trying to steal shoes that spilled out of the overturned trailer. There is no information that enforcement action was taken against these people but this type of activity interferes with emergency responders work, the investigation, and is illegal.
     Oregon State Police troopers from The Dalles Area Command office are continuing the investigation. Hood River County Sheriff’s Office, Hood River Police Department, Hood River Fire Department, and Oregon Department of Transportation assisted at the scene.