A truck driver was killed in a crash in Columbia County, Oregon, on Monday afternoon.
The crash occurred around 1:20 p.m. on February 6, 2023, on the Scappoose-Vernonia Highway near mile marker 1.5, according to the Columbia County Sheriff‘s Office (CCSO).
“This was a single vehicle crash that occurred when the truck / trailer left the roadway, causing the trailers to fall over the embankment, which in turn caused the cab of the tractor to roll,” CCSO said.
Firefighters responded to the scene and found 69 year old Washington-based truck driver Dennis Hickethier trapped in the wrecked truck.
CCSO said that Hickethier was initially conscious and breathing as crews worked to extricate him, but he later stopped breathing and was pronounced dead by medical personnel at the scene.
Earlier reports indicated that a second vehicle was involved, but CCS) said that they determined that those reports were incorrect with help from a crash reconstructionist from the Oregon State Police.
CCSO was assisted by the Scappoose Police Department, Vernonia Police Department, Scappoose Fire, Vernonia Fire and Mist-Birkenfeld Fire.