OAKRIDGE, OR – A truck driver died last Thursday from injuries sustained in an early morning hit and run truck accident in Lane County, Oregon. The truck accident happened on Highway 58 about seven miles west of Oakridge, and southeast of Eugene, OR. The area is in the central west section of the state, 140 miles south of Portland, OR and 140 miles northwest of Klamath Falls, OR.
Shortly before 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning, 37 year old Gregory R. Muller of Sparks, Nevada was driving a Sherwin-Williams trailer truck east on Highway 58. Mr. Muller was hauling clothes and furniture for the paint company. The corporate headquarters for Sherwin-Williams Paint Company is based in Cleveland, Ohio.
As Mr. Muller was rounding a sharp curve on the highway, he encountered a westbound truck pulling two trailers carrying large bales of hay. As the hay truck took the curve on the highway it lost about eight bales of hay from the front trailer.
WATCH VIDEO
The falling hay bales, which Oregon State Police estimated at around 8 tons, fell on top of the truck cab of Mr. Muller’s 18 wheeler truck. After the impact Mr. Miller apparently lost control of his Sherwin-Williams trailer truck and crashed into a ditch at the side of the highway.
The hay bales completely destroyed the cab of Mr. Muller’s truck. Local emergency personnel who responded to the scene of the truck accident were unable to provide help to the truck driver, as he suffered fatal injuries in the accident. Oregon State Police believe the truck driver was killed instantly in the truck accident and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
MAP
The truck driver hauling the double trailer of hay bales did not stop immediately after the truck accident, and instead continued to drive west on Highway 58. Authorities believe that the truck driver should have realized that something was wrong when he had lost eight 1000 pound hay bales from his double trailer truck
Oregon State Police finally caught the truck driver around 3:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon, in Salem, OR about 96 miles from the scene of the fatal truck accident.
OSP shut down both directions of traffic on the highway in the area of the truck accident. They would remain closed for several hours while highway crews removed the bales of hay which still blocked the traffic lanes.
STREET VIEW
One lane was opened for traffic at 10:00 a.m. Highway officials reclosed the lanes at around 2:00 p.m. while a tow truck worked to remove the wreckage of the Sherwin-Williams 18 wheeler truck.
Oregon Highway Authorities and State Police have not released the name of the truck driver hauling the double trailer load of hay bales that caused the truck accident.
They have not determined what charges will be brought, and the truck accident remains under investigation.
For more information about Oregon trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, contact an experienced Oregon truck accident lawyer. For a free initial consultation, contact nationwide truck accident attorneys, Gordon, Elias & Seely LLP, for the best advise possible.