I-84 Re-opened Following Commercial Truck Crash Involving Hazardous Materials Transportation East of Baker City

The injured driver, Ronald Hanes, age 61, from Sacramento, California, was picked up by a passing vehicle with four occupants that drove upon the scene.

Photograph - Oregon State Police

(BAKER CITY) - A stretch of Interstate 84 that was closed east of Baker City following a traffic crash involving a commercial truck transporting hazardous materials early Sunday morning is now open to traffic in both directions. The truck was pulling a trailer transporting a toxic hazardous material and HazMat personnel have clean up the scene to the point allowing eastbound traffi c to resume following the earlier opening of westbound lanes.

According to Sergeant Ty Duby, on November 3, 2013 at approximately 12:45 a.m., a commercial truck pulling a box trailer loaded with 4,200 gallons of Tetramethylammonium Hydroxide was involving in a traffic crash along the eastbound lanes of Interstate 84 near milepost 324. The injured driver, Ronald Hanes, age 61, from Sacramento, California, was picked up by a passing vehicle with four occupants that drove upon the scene.

Emergency responders from multiple agencies responded and an incident command staging area established away from the crash scene. Hanes and the four other people were decontaminated by fire personnel and taken to an area hospital for medical assessment related to exposure to the hazardous material. Everyone taken to the hospital reportedly have been released.

HazMat 14 response team from Ontario responded to the scene to coordinate clean up efforts. Traffic in both directions was blocked at Baker City (milepost 304) and west of Ontario (milepost 371). The westbound lanes opened around 8:00 a.m. Eastbound traffic re-opened about 9:45 a.m.

Responding agencies include ODOT, Oregon State Police, Baker County Sheriff's Office, Baker City Police Department, Baker City Fire Department, and Baker County Rural Fire Department.

The trucking company was identified as Lesaint Chemical Logistics out of Portland, Oregon.

No word on enforcement action or other information available for release at this time. Trooper Levi Macy is the lead investigator.