Fatal car accident south of Forest Grove closes highway
On Friday morning January 22 at approximately 7:00 am Forest Grove Fire & Rescue responded to a multi-car crash on SW Highway 47 near the B Street intersection, approximately 2 miles south of the city of Forest Grove. When firefighters arrived they found a total of four (4) cars involved and nine (9) victims, including one fatality. Crews triaged the scene and discovered that initially the accident involved a pickup towing a recreational trailer and a small sedan in a t-bone type of impact. Those witnesses stated that the deceased man was initially not involved and had stopped to render aid when he was struck by another vehicle and killed. The small sedan that was originally involved had significant damage to the passenger side of the vehicle and the recreational trailer was also destroyed by the force of the impact.
Fire crews from Forest Grove (12), Cornelius (8), and Gaston (4) responded to the crash, as well as four (4) Metro West ambulances, and one (1) Life Flight Helicopter. Five (5) patients were transported to the Trauma Center at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland with serious injuries. Fire crews were on scene for over an hour treating the injured victims and the busy highway between Yamhill and Washington Counties remains closed at this time.
This type of accident where a good Samaritan bystander was struck by another vehicle is the reason why fire crews will block roadways with emergency vehicles while working car crash scenes. Please use caution when approaching intersections and if you are coming into an accident scene slow down, stop, and wait till you are told to pass through, even if firefighters or police officers have not yet arrived. It is also important to stay in your vehicle until you are sure that the roadway is controlled and safe, especially in dark and rainy conditions like we had this morning.
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