By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
YACHATS – Both lanes of U.S. Highway 101 near Cape Perpetua reopened early Tuesday following the roll-over accident of a tractor-trailer carrying an oversized load of pipes Monday afternoon.
The truck flipped on its side in the southbound lane of the highway just south of Yachats above North Cape Creek about 2:30 p.m. Monday after the rear wheels of its trailer went off the road.
North Cape Creek is just south of Amanda Creek on the final curve before the climb to Cape Perpetua’s north flank.
“The driver said there was somebody in his lane traveling north, and he got over too far, a little too far,” said Yachats firefighter/paramedic Osmo Larmi. “And it looks like his duals caught and once you get a trailer and a load headed one way, that’s all she wrote.”
The driver was not hurt and was able to climb out the driver-side door.
The load consisted of two heavy gauge pipes 80 to 100 feet long and 18 inches in diameter that were bound for an overpass project in California. The trailer came to rest upside down against two trees below the west side of the highway.
“They look pretty solid, but gravity wants to keep going,” Larmi said. “We estimate there’s between 150 to 200 gallons of diesel on board so that’s what we’re worried about.”
A hazmat team from the Corvallis Fire Department was summoned, Larmi said, as well as two heavy-lift tow trucks to stabilize the vehicle before a planned attempt to pump fuel out of the truck’s tanks, one of which was partially crushed under the weight of the truck.
“It’s not safe,” Larmi said while awaiting the hazmat team. “We’ve got some absorbent mats down to soak up any fuel but we are over a creek that leads to the ocean. That’s when it’s time to call the hazmat crew and do it the right way. This is dangerous stuff on the side of a highway.”
But by the time the hazmat team arrived around 5 p.m. it was too late.
“There was not a whole bunch of fuel left in the tanks by the time they got there,” Larmi said Tuesday morning. “Maybe 50 gallons. So a lot of the fuel did end up on the ground. It was coming out in a steady stream for the duration until we got the truck flipped over.”
The fuel soaked into the ground “pretty far above the stream,” Larmi said Tuesday, and all indications were there was no runoff into the creek.
“The insurance for the truck and the driver is going to have to pay to dig out the contaminated dirt and dispose of it,” Larmi said. “As usually happens with accidents like that along highways. It’s going to cost a pretty penny.”
The end of the trailer rested several feet from the creek, which flows through Ray Pedrick’s property before entering the ocean approximately 130 yards from the crash site.
Fire engines from Yachats Rural Fire Protection District and the Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue district were on scene as well as a Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy. A team from the Oregon Department of Transportation arrived later to help with traffic control until it was taken over by the towing company.
Mast Brothers Towing & Recovery sent one truck from Florence and pulled another off a job in Gold Beach to help right the truck and pull the trailer with its still-strapped down load back onto the road.
“They did some really good work last night,” Larmi said. “I didn’t think it was going to go as well as it did. It was a really long, slow process because of how heavy that load was and the precarious position they had to put the two wrecker trucks in. But the Mast Brothers did an amazing job.”
Both lanes of the highway were closed intermittently between 8 and 10 p.m. while the tow trucks occupied the northbound lane to extract the trailer. The pipes, which shifted to one side, were re-positioned to the center before it and the truck were towed to Florence.
An ODOT vehicle with emergency lights led the way, making it safer because they could use the whole highway and not risk putting it back in the ditch, Larmi said.
The truck is privately owned and was contracting to carry the pipes.
“I don’t think he should have been on this part of 101 with how long his load was,” Larmi said. “I think his route was supposed to be I-5 to Eugene and then over to Florence and down 101. I think either he didn’t know his route or he was mis-routed or something. And they wouldn’t let him have chase cars. Usually with a load like that you have chase cars.”
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
To many drivers these days are in a hurry and drive in ways that are extremely unsafe to them and other drivers. Passing in areas where visibility is limited is common on Highway 101. Between Newport and Florence I see this kind of unsafe and illegal passing regularly. Sometimes it’s terrifying to me. Especially during our “rush hour” when people seem too be in such a hurry to get home they’re willing to put the rest of us in danger to save a minute or two. Please drive defensively. And use your full lights at all times.
I saw this happen right in front of me. There were two motor homes in the opposite lane that were in that drivers lane. I saw the driver of the truck swerve more out of his own lane to avoid hitting the motorhomes that were in his lane. The motorhomes that shoved him out of his own lane just drove on by and didn’t stop. Was not the semi drivers fault at all. Was sad to see. Glad driver is okay.
All of us that drive this stretch regularly see drivers crossing the yellow lines in the curves on a regular basis. It’s gotten to the point where I drive with my hand on the horn as I come around the curves. Too bad those motor homes weren’t caught on dash cams.
Old men (I am one) driving large RVs on 101 are a menace. Many of them just can’t handle it. Know your limits.