A motorist involved in a two-vehicle crash Monday evening on Highway 34 suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Philomath Fire and Rescue reported.
The local fire department was dispatched to the scene of the collision at 6:14 p.m. July 29 in an area on the highway just south of its intersection with Highway 20. Philomath Police and the Benton County Sheriff’s Office were already on site and requested Fire and Rescue and Corvallis Fire medics to evaluate the two drivers.
“On arrival, I found a Hyundai sedan with severe front-end damage to the driver side in the middle of Highway 34,” said Philomath Fire and Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Rich Saalsaa, who served in the role of incident commander. “There was a single driver in the vehicle, a male in his 80s.
“The second vehicle was a heavy-duty commercial pickup that was off to the side of the road in the northbound lanes, approximately 50 yards from the crash scene,” he added. “That vehicle had a single male driver in his 20s who was standing by the side of the road near the crash site.”
Saalsaa said the collision left the Hyundai undrivable with a broken wheel on the driver’s side.
The driver of the Hyundai was transported to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center via Corvallis Fire ambulance. The driver of the commercial pickup reported no injuries and refused further treatment or transportation.
Saalsaa estimated that Highway 20 was limited to one-way traffic for approximately 20 minutes. BCSO was the lead agency on the investigation.
In addition to Saalsaa, Philomath Fire and Rescue’s response included an engine company with two personnel and a duty officer.