April 14th, 2010 | 
Author: CORVALLIS, OR – On April, 2, 2010 a trailer truck crashed into an auto body shop Friday morning in Benton County, Oregon. The truck accident happened on Highway 34 in Corvallis, OR. The accident area is in the northwest section of the state southwest of Salem, 84 miles south of Portland, OR and 48 miles north of Eugene, OR.
The interior of the Freebird shop was a mess with crumpled metal and broken glass mixed in with destroyed insulation. Crews removed the trailer truck from the building Friday, and the front window boarded up, allowing Freebird Body & Paint to remain open for business.
Shortly after 11:00 a.m. Friday morning, 44 year old Casmiro Perez of Corvallis was driving a semi trailer truck eastbound on Highway 34, traveling at about 35 MPH. Mr. Perez had just picked up a load of wood concrete forms in Monmouth and was headed back to Double Eagle Construction, located off Highway 34 in the Eastgate Industrial Park.
As Mr. Perez reached the industrial park he attempted to make a right hand turn onto southbound Freeman Lane. Mr. Perez began to lose control of the 18 wheeler and the trailer truck headed towards the front window of the Freebird Body & Paint Company, another business in the industrial park.
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The truck driver said the brakes on the semi were not working, so he turned the steering wheel to the left to swerve the 18 wheeler away from the auto body shop. However, the weight of the wood concrete forms propelled the trailer truck forward into the shop, smashing through the glass windows.
Inside Freebird Body & Paint, the office manager, Diana Mang, had been sitting at the front reception desk at the time of the truck accident. She told authorities that she heard the sound of brakes locking up and a vehicle skidding on the roadway. When she looked up she saw the semi truck with the fully loaded trailer coming right at her.
Ms. Mang jumped up and rushed into the room behind the reception area just as the trailer truck came crashing through the front windows. The semi truck finally came to a stop up against a metal beam in the auto body shop. Ms Mang was able to escape injury and called 911 for help. The truck driver was also uninjured in the truck accident.
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Two other people were in the reception area of the auto body shop at the time of the truck accident, Shawn King, one of the owners, and David Schroeder, a project manager. Mr. Schroeder told police that he was unaware of what was happening until he saw the owner jump. Neither man was injured in the truck accident.
The Corvallis Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene of the Friday morning truck accident, along with Oregon State Police. The interior of the Freebird shop was a mess with crumpled metal and broken glass mixed in with destroyed insulation. According to the Corvallis Fire Chief there were no fires and the Double Eagle trailer truck did not lose diesel fuel or dangerous liquids during the truck accident.
Crews removed the trailer truck from the building Friday, and the front window boarded up, allowing Freebird Body & Paint to remain open for business.
The truck driver has been charged with Careless Driving, and other charges may be brought against him once the investigation of the truck accident is complete.
For more information about Oregon trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, contact nationwide truck accident attorneys Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for expert advice. For a free initial consultation, talk to an OR truck accident lawyer at 800.773.6770.
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