Vehicles can be seen turning around at the Timber Junction on an ODOT traffic camera
Highway 26 is closed for a fatal crash on Highway 26 about two miles west of the Timber Junction near mile post 35, in a location described as just east of the Columbia County line.
The Oregon State Police confirmed that there was a fatality in a press release.
The total number of people involved in the crash is not yet available, but in addition to the confirmed fatality, Metro West Ambulance said they had transported one patient with critical injuries from the scene.
Just after 3:20 p.m., the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said that the closure could last two more hours.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said that the highway would be closed in both directions for several hours.
Metro West Ambulance said that there were three vehicles involved in the crash, and said that one of the vehicles was on fire, with reported entrapment of patients, though it wasn’t clear if patients were in the vehicle that was ablaze.
In a call with Banks Fire District spokesperson Scott Adams, he noted that Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue had also responded to the scene due to a spill from a commercial vehicle involved in the crash, but that the chemicals had been contained.
Banks Fire District 13 said that they, Vernonia Fire, Metro West, and other agencies were on scene.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
