Trailer comes detached from truck, kills Albany man on Highway 20

The 20 Freeway, between Corvallis and Albany, was the site of another fatal crash this week, this time between a trailer that became a compact and self-driving car.

About 3:50 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 4, an unloaded semitrailer being towed behind a westbound Ford Ranger near Hyak Park detached and struck an oncoming Honda Civic, according to a press release from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. .

The Civic then went off the road and hit a telephone pole, the release said. The driver of the Civic, a 69-year-old man from Albani, was transported by ambulance and later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The driver of the Ranger, 42-year-old Nicholaus Cotter of Lebanon, was not injured, according to the news release. He was arrested on suspicion of reckless endangerment, he was charged with numerous traffic offenses and was released at the scene.

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The investigation is still ongoing. Anyone with further information about the crash is asked to contact Sgt. David Iverson at 541-230-0984 or email [email protected]

Other collisions

This week’s clash follows two more in a single weekend in mid-December. The first was a two-vehicle crash on Dec. 18 that claimed the life of Corvallis community leader Andrea Thornberry.

On Wednesday, Benton County sheriff’s deputies arrested a 24-year-old Corvallis man in connection with the crash, alleging he was intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration level above .2.

The day before that crash, an 87-year-old woman was killed in a multi-vehicle crash near Granger Avenue. No arrests have yet been made in that incident.

The brawl prompted Oregon state Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, to ask the Oregon Department of Transportation to reevaluate safety conditions on Highway 20 near Granger Avenue and Independence Highway.

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Although ODOT is in the midst of a $28.2 million project of safety improvements, transportation officials responded with some quick fixes: The agency installed an additional sign on Granger Avenue and also reduced the space between the orange barrels along the freeway’s shoulders to make it easier. identification of travel lanes.

Trailer safety

In its news release, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office included a warning about using a trailer, which requires knowledge of trailer size and weight, proper hitching techniques, proper load securing methods, proper loading load and weight distribution.

To prevent another tragedy, deputies suggest drivers review the Oregon Department of Transportation’s safety guidelines at https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Safety/Documents/TowingATrailer.pdf.

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