JOSEPHINE COUNTY, Ore — First responders in Josephine county responded to a series of crashes Saturday, including one that claimed the life of a driver.
Josephine County Sheriffs, Rural Metro Fire responded to a single car crash on Speaker Road in Wolf Creek around 10:11 a.m. Saturday morning. Deputies found a car that left the roadway, struck a tree and went down an embankment.
Deputies say the driver was the only person inside and was pronounced dead at the scene. The name has yet to be released until next of kin is notified.
The crash just marked one of several that emergency crews responded to in Josephine county on Saturday – with the wet weather adding to the mix.
“[Saturday] there was a pretty significant period there, where the rain came down pretty hard and caused some crashes.” Austin Prince, division chief with Rural Metro Fire, told NBC5 Sunday.
About six hours later just before 5 p.m., six cars were involved in a crash on I-5 near milepost 67.5 in Hugo. Rural Metro said when crews were responding to the first incident, four additional crashes occurred in the same area.
Four people were transported for a variety of injuries, but none were considered to be life-threatening. Wet pavement and speeding, are believed to have contributed to the crashes.
“On any road in Oregon, you’re going to have people who get accustomed to a particular road condition, especially when we haven’t had any rain,” Prince said. “The dry pavement gives people a lot more ability to pick up their speed a little more. When you get a front that moves in and suddenly you got a wet pavement… the problem has a tendency to be that drivers don’t adjust their driving habits [to the changing conditions].”
RMF said its fifth crash of the day, occurred before 10 p.m. in Murphy. Crews say a driver of a pick-up truck, lost control on the 8100 block of New Hope Road.
Two people had to be removed out of the truck by first responders. Both were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
On Sunday, Rural Metro responded to a crash on I-5 near milepost 71 – near the same area that involved the six cars yesterday evening. Prince said that section continuously leads to crashes, particularly when there’s rain.
“I can’t even give you the number of crashes, but almost every time rainfall hits the pavement, there’s crashes at those two locations,” Prince said. “People just don’t necessarily anticipate that type of changing condition, and what it might do to their ability to maintain traction.”
The cause of the fatal crash in Wolf Creek remains under investigation.
This remains a developing story and more details will be released, as it emerges.
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