Semi truck driver killed in secondary crash in traffic backup from 60 vehicle pileup in Oregon
A semi truck driver was killed in a secondary crash following a massive pileup on I-5 in Oregon on Wednesday.
Oregon State Police say that California-based semi truck driver Kirpal Singh, 63, died in a chain reaction crash on I-5 on Wednesday afternoon.
The initial pileup occurred around 8 a.m on October 19 on southbound I-5 at mile marker 216 near Brownsville, Oregon. The crash occurred amid low visibility conditions caused by fog and wildfire smoke and ultimately involved 45 cars and 15 to 20 trucks. One person was killed in this crash.
You can see video of the aftermath of the Brownsville crash below.
NEW VIDEO: This time lapse shows the pileup and backup on the left side of the video, in part due to fog along I-5 in Oregon on Wednesday.#traffic #pileup #fog #ORwx pic.twitter.com/iuvIRU2um3
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) October 20, 2022
Around 2:10 p.m., Sacramento-based truck driver Pritpal Singh, 31, was operating a Freightliner stopped in the slow lane of southbound I-5 at mile marker 210 amid traffic slowed for the previous pileup. Kirpal Singh was also driving a Freightliner south on I-5 when he struck Pritpal Singh’s truck from the rear. This resulted in a chain reaction crash involving a Nissan Armada and Ford Focus. Kirpal Singh’s truck caught fire.
“A semi hit another semi. Explosions were reported,” Oregon Department of Transportation spokesperson Angela Beers-Seydel told the Albany Democrat-Herald.
Kirpal Singh was later pronounced dead at the scene.
No other injuries were reported.
You can click here to see video from KPIC of the aftermath of the Albany crash.