A motorist escaped injuries in an off-road crash late Friday night on Highway 34 about two miles southwest of Philomath, local fire department officials reported.
Philomath Fire & Rescue’s Rich Saalsaa, public information officer, said personnel at the Main Street station responded to a report of the crash at 10:41 p.m. on Aug. 19. Benton County Sheriff’s Office deputies were first to arrive on scene and provided the location to the fire department.
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if more details become available.
“A single male passenger was stuck in the vehicle but was otherwise unharmed,” Saalsaa reported, adding that with the assistance of deputies, Fire & Rescue personnel “were able to free the patient and escort him up the hill on his own power for further examination. All of the airbags were deployed in the vehicle, which, in combination with his seatbelt, likely saved him from serious injuries.”
Fire & Rescue sent a fire truck with rescue equipment and three personnel, along with Saalsaa as incident commander and Chancy Ferguson as chief officer. Three others on a Fire & Rescue engine also responded from the district’s Inavale station but were sent to Station 201 in Philomath to provide emergency coverage, Saalsaa said.
Corvallis Fire responded with an ambulance but the man refused transportation to the hospital, Saalsaa said.
“There was some spilled fuel and some container of flammable liquids in the vehicle which led our truck to stand-by while the vehicle was brought up the hill and eventually placed on a flat-bed truck by B&R Towing,” Saalsaa said.
Highway 34 was closed for just over an hour while responders processed the scene. BCSO is in charge of the investigation.