Fatal crash near Millican
Published 5:00 am Monday, October 14, 2013
The westbound lane of U.S. Highway 20 near Millican was blocked for several hours Sunday after a fatal commercial truck crash, according to a news release from Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings.
At approximately 2:50 p.m., the driver of a semi-truck registered to Wurdinger Recycling Inc., towing two trailers loaded with recycled car parts, lost control of his vehicle. The truck and first trailer rolled over, coming to rest on their tops off the highway. The second trailer came to rest partially blocking the westbound lane. The vehicle parts spilled from the trailers.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the news release. He was wearing a seatbelt. The victim’s name will be released today following notification of next of kin.
OSP troopers were assisted at the scene by Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, fire and rescue personnel from Bend and Redmond and Oregon Department of Transportation personnel.
OSP troopers continue to investigate the cause of the crash. It was the second fatal accident in Central Oregon over the weekend.
Around 11:50 a.m. Saturday, Sisters residents 23-year-old Austin Jacob McNelis and 18-year-old Kayla Marie Basham were killed when the 1984 Toyota Celica they were in collided with a 2012 Dodge pickup driven by 30-year-old Andrew Smolich.
According to the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, the accident took place on U.S. Highway 20 a mile west of Sisters. McNelis was heading east on the highway when a deer crossed the highway and he attempted to avoid the deer by swerving around it. He lost control of the car, according to the Sheriff’s Office, and it slid on the wet highway into the path of Smolich’s westbound pickup.
McNelis’s car was hit in the driver’s side. That crash also remains under investigation.