Truck Driver Arrested for Criminally Negligent Homicide and Meth

A truck driver was struck and killed by another truck about four miles north of the Oregon / California border of the Siskiyou Pass.

The freeway through the Siskiyou Mountains can be very dangerous year round. Photo: westcoastroads.com

(ASHLAND, Ore.) - Oregon State Police arrested a California commercial truck driver Thursday night related to an ongoing fatal traffic crash investigation.

At about 3:38 PM Thursday, 52-year old Kelly Linhart, from Blodgett, had stopped his 2005 Volvo commercial truck and semi-trailer off the northbound shoulder of Interstate 5 near milepost 4 and was outside of his vehicle examining the truck and trailer.

As Linhart was walking toward the front of the truck, a northbound 1996 Freightliner truck driven by 54-year old Daniel Clarey struck the semi-trailer's left rear side and glanced along the side of the trailer and truck. Linhart apparently attempted to move out from the front of the truck and was struck by the Freightliner. Linhart was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Daniel Clarey

Clarey was not injured. OSP Lieutenant Brian Powers reported this morning that Daniel Clarey, from Long Beach, California, was lodged in Jackson County Jail for Criminally Negligent Homicide, Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, and Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance - Methamphetamine.

OSP troopers from the Central Point Area Command office, with the assistance of the Serious Traffic Accident Reduction (STAR) interagency team, are continuing the investigation. The STAR team is comprised of representatives from OSP, Jackson County District Attorney's Office, Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Medford Police Department and Ashland Police Department. ODOT and Ashland Towing assisted at the scene. The right lane and shoulder on the northbound side of Interstate 5 was closed about 4 1/2 hours.

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truck drivers use speed to stay awake on the long hauls, they always have. it's wrong, it's a crime, but I think in most cases it actually saves lives. kind of backwards, i know. This seems like a tragedy across the board. my sympathies to all.

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