A mult-vehicle accident involving a log truck, two pickup trucks and two trailers caused the closure of a portion of Highway 20 on Monday, April 6.
The accident apparently occurred when the pickup trucks rear-ended the log truck.
Oregon State Police reported that a truck driver (vehicle 3) pulled eastbound onto the highway, believing there was plenty of space between him and other drivers, and began picking up its speed. Another eastbound truck (vehicle 1) reportedly did not slow down or change lanes to pass vehicle 3, and crashed into vehicle 3. The driver of vehicle 1 admitted he looked at his phone. Then a third driver (vehicle 2) crashed into vehicle 1.
The driver of vehicle 1 was issued a citation.
According to the Lebanon Fire District, responders arrived to the scene near Horseshoe Loop at approximately 6 a.m. where they found heavy front end damage to two company pickups, heavy damage to a trailer with an asphalt spreader and heavy damage to the log truck, as well as a 400-foot diesel spill spreading across all four lanes of the highway.
An asphalt spreader being hauled on one of the trailers had rolled on its side and was actively leaking the fuel from its 30-gallon tank.
Firefighters used absorbents and booms to stop the spill and soak up what they could. They attempted to plug the hole in the fuel tank with putty and dowels, but the leak continued to spill out.
LFD reported the spill was exacerbated by a 100-gallon tank of water that was also leaking, pushing the fuel off the roadway and into the ditch.
Traffic was diverted onto Fairview Road for east and west travel until the highway was cleaned up.
No injuries were reported.
Oregon Emergency Response System and Oregon Department of Transportation were notified.