Crash Kills Clatskanie Man Near Deer Island

The highway was closed five hours.

Photo: Oregon State Police

(ST HELENS, Ore.) - One person died early Sunday morning when the vehicle he was driving crossed into the opposite lane of travel on Highway 30 near Deer Island, collided with a street sweeper and then caught fire after striking a guardrail.

The 1993 Ford pickup operated by the victim was northbound on Highway 30 Saturday at 4:00 AM near milepost 39 when, for an unknown reason, it crossed into the southbound lane and struck the left side of a 1995 Ford street sweeper.

Police say that after impact, the Ford pickup traveled back across the northbound lane and struck the guard rail where it caught fire.

The pickup's driver was deceased at the scene in the damaged pickup. He has been tentatively identified as 46-year old David Charles Porter of Clatskanie.

The street sweeper operator, 39-year old Christopher Merrill of Kelso, Washington was not injured.

Oregon State Police troopers from the St. Helens work site, with the assistance of an OSP crash reconstructionist, are continuing the investigation. Assisting at the scene was personnel from ODOT, Rainer Police Department, and Columbia River Fire and Rescue.

The highway was closed five hours.
Source: Oregon State Police