A dump truck and a four-door hatchback crashed at the intersection of Main Street and 19th Street Friday morning with one person transported to the hospital, Philomath Police and Philomath Fire and Rescue reported.
A woman in her early 20s driving a Kia Niro was attempting to turn left from Main Street onto South 19th when hit by a fully-loaded dump truck heading east through the intersection. Philomath Police Lt. Dave Gurski said witnesses reported that the Kia’s driver made the turn into the path of the truck on a flashing yellow arrow, which signals vehicles to yield to oncoming traffic. Police were also able to obtain video of the crash from a nearby business.
“Actually, she was pretty lucky considering he was hauling, I think he said, 12 yards of gravel in the back of the truck, so he was fully loaded,” Gurski said.
Gurski mentioned that the dump truck driver, although the collision with the vehicle occurred, had avoided a possible rollover with that full load of gravel.
“If you look at that intersection, there’s a little bit of a slope as you go south on 19th,” Gurski said. “On the video, you can see him start to swerve and then it was almost like he was worried about hitting that slope and rolling the gravel truck. That was one of the things when I talked to him that he mentioned, so he was aware of that and really had nowhere to go.”
The Kia’s driver was taken via Corvallis Fire ambulance to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis for further evaluation, Philomath Fire and Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Rich Saalsaa said, adding that the vehicle’s airbags deployed. The dump truck’s driver was not injured.
The intersection was blocked for a period of time until the vehicles could be moved. Philomath Fire and Rescue utilized absorbent to manage the fluid spill on the roadway.
Emergency responders were dispatched to the crash at 9:36 a.m. Philomath Fire and Rescue’s response included an engine crew of four, Fire Chief Chancy Ferguson as incident commander and Saalsaa as extra assistance.