OREGON CITY, Ore. -- A dump truck careened off a bridge into a creek in Clackamas County Monday, critically injuring the driver.
Witnesses pulled the driver out of the wreckage in Abernathy Creek, just off S. Maple Lane Road, before the cab of his truck filled with water.
Steve Oberson, 47, of Oregon City was then airlifted to Oregon Health Sciences University Hospital in Portland for treatment.
His truck was hauling a flatbed trailer which was loaded with large pieces of concrete and other heavy debris. Oberson said the brakes failed and that’s why he lost control, hit a guardrail and then plunged into the creek.
Slideshow: Photos of dump truck into creek
The crash also caused extensive structural damage to the bridge. A Clackamas County bridge inspector was summoned to the scene to inspect the structural integrity and investigators said the impact of the truck into the bridge was so severe, the rear-view mirror was found embedded into a portion of the guardrail.
“Motorists can anticipate this portion of S. Maple Lane Road, in Oregon City –- between S. Fergusson Road and S. Waldo Road -- to be closed to all vehicle traffic… while crews evaluate the reliability of the damaged bridge,” said detective Jim Strovink with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. “It is unknown at this time when this stretch of roadway will reopen to vehicular traffic.”
Some fuel also spilled into Abernathy Creek and the Department of Environmental Services worked to contain it.
The truck was registered to Oberson Excavating Incorporated, on Holcomb Boulevard, in Oregon City.
