A Sweet Home couple escaped injury Monday night when their car caught fire on Interstate 5, according to Oregon State Police.
On Monday, Jan. 6, at approximately 6:45 p.m., OSP Trooper Don Rummer was on patrol when he saw a passenger car smoking heavily stopped on the shoulder of Interstate 5 at the exit 233 off-ramp. As Rummer approached the vehicle, he saw the front engine compartment area catch fire and notified OSP Northern Command Center dispatch to get fire personnel responding to the scene, Lt. Gregg Hastings said.
Hastings said the 2001 Toyota Camry’s occupants, Dennis and Susan Edgerly of Sweet Home, got out of the vehicle. They had been at a grocery store and had a trunk-load of groceries.
Rummer retrieved the patrol car’s fire extinguisher and tried to knock down the flames, but the fire continued to spread to the front tires. Albany Fire Department firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire. The car is considered a total loss, Hastings said.
“Fortunately, firefighters retrieved the groceries before the car became fully engulfed,” he said.