A mother and son were killed yesterday when their RV slammed into the back of a parked truck on an off-ramp leading to the Oak Grove rest area on I-5 in Oregon.
Trucker Asleep When RV Crashes Into Trailer
The crash happened around 4 p.m. near Eugene. Truck driver Sergio Valente, 37, was asleep in his truck when he felt the truck move, waking him up. An RV had drifted out of its lane and slammed into the rear of his truck.
Oregon State Police Senior Trooper Eli Chambers happened to be passing by and pulled over to assist. Valente used a fire extinguisher to try to put out the flaming wreckage, but the two adults in the front of the RV were killed when the force of impact embedded the vehicle under the trailer.
Trooper Helps To Pull Child From Wreckage
Chambers heard a child screaming in the wreckage and with the help of two Good Samaritans was able to break a window and pull the five year old girl to safety.
The RV driver, 69 year old Sandra Bishop and her son, 26 year old Michael Bunten, died in the crash. The little girl is in stable condition after she was taken to the hospital for possible fractures.
Truck Driver Deeply Disturbed By Crash
Valente was unhurt in the crash, though he says he is having trouble dealing with it emotionally and wonders what would have happened if he had parked elsewhere. Valente had parked on the shoulder for his 10 hour break because all of the rest area’s truck parking spots were full.
He was not cited after the crash.
Police are still unsure why the RV crashed into the truck, but there is no indication that Bishop attempted to brake before she crashed.
Sources:
The Register-Guard
KCBY
KVAL
The Democrat-Herald
The News-Guard