Early this morning, Tuesday November 16, 2010 at approximately 1:31 a.m., Portland Police officers responded to the report of a motor Portland Police Traffic Investigators have identified the drivers of last nights fatal crash. The driver of the 2000 International Tanker Truck that was rear-ended has been identified as 53-year-old Gregory Rupert of Seattle. The driver of the 1993 Ford F-350 pick-up has been identified as 43-year-old Phillip Patrick Burch of North Portland. Burch is in critical condition at an area hospital. The passenger has been identified as a 47-year-old resident of North Portland. His name will not be released at this time until family can be notified.
Traffic investigators continue to investigate the contributing factors to the crash and no arrests have been made or citations issued at this time.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE BELOW
Early this morning, Tuesday November 16, 2010 at approximately 1:31 a.m., Portland Police officers responded to the report of a motor vehicle crash with injuries on North Columbia Boulevard and North Hurst Street. Officers arrived and found that a large, full-size American pick-up truck had rear-ended a double-axle tanker truck. Medical personnel arrived and made contact with the drivers of both vehicles. The driver of the pick-up was removed by medical personnel and was found to be suffering from apparent life-threatening injuries. He was transported to an area hospital. Officers and medical personnel then discovered that a passenger in the pick-up was deceased inside the vehicle. Both subjects appeared to be adult males.
The driver of the tanker truck was suffering from non-life threatening injuries and was transported to an area hospital. The driver of the tanker truck was also an adult male.
