BAKER COUNTY, Oregon — An Idaho truck driver was killed on Sept. 6 when a set of dual tires flew off another 18-wheeler’s flatbed and smashed into the windshield of his rig.
Oregon State Police said the incident happened at approximately 6:40 p.m. on Interstate 84 near milepost 338.
James Green, 50, of Caldwell, Idaho, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a state police report.
The report noted that the dual tires bounced across the center concrete barrier and became “airborne to a great height” before crashing into Green’s blue Freightliner.
The tires had been on the flatbed trailer attached to a white Freightliner driven by Hassen Ibrahim, 38, of Dublin, Ohio, the report noted.
Just after the accident, state police said that Ibrahim chained up the broken axle and left the scene. He was later located by state troopers near Baker City.
Ibrahim was not injured; a passenger in his truck, Mohamed Kulale, 61, was also uninjured.
Interstate 84 was closed for approximately six hours while emergency crews cleared the scene.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
