HARNEY COUNTY, Ore. — A driver is dead after a two-vehicle crash involving a Freightliner.
On Monday, Oct. 20 at 4:30 p.m., Oregon State Police responded to at two-vehicle crash on Highway 20, near milepost 144, in Harney County.
The preliminary investigation indicated a Chevrolet Tahoe, operated by James Joseph Hammeke, 91, of Burns, entered the highway from Rattlesnake Road and was struck by a westbound Freightliner commercial motor vehicle and trailer, operated by Jaswinder Singh Sidhu, 45, of Oregon City. The Freightliner struck the driver side door and front fender of the Chevrolet causing significant damage.
Hammeke was declared deceased after being transported to an area hospital.
Sidhu, the operator of the Freightliner, was reportedly uninjured.
The highway was impacted for approximately four hours during the on-scene investigation.
OSP was assisted by the Burns Fire Department and ODOT.
This is an ongoing investigation and no additional information is available at this time.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
