PRESS RELEASE – Oregon Department of Transportation personnel were to remain on scene monitoring two tanker trailers loaded with approximately 9,000 gallons of diesel after they traveled down an embankment on the south side of Interstate 84 in the Hood River area Friday afternoon. The company was arranging to off load the diesel before removing the tanker trailers possibly on Saturday.
According to Oregon State Police Sgt. Pat Shortt, on March 4, 2011 at approximately 3:25 p.m. a commercial truck pulling the two tanker trailers was eastbound on Interstate 84 near milepost 63. The truck’s driver, Eric D. Christiansen, 58, from Vancouver lost control possibly due to an equipment problem on one of the trailers. The vehicles came to an initial rest teetering over the right shoulder guardrail.
Uninjured, Christiansen got out of the truck before it continued down an embankment and stopped against several trees. The front trailer was ruptured but it appears a small amount of diesel leaked because the hole was above the diesel level in the tank.
OSP troopers from The Dalles Area Command office, Hood River Fire Department, and ODOT responded to the scene. OSP’s investigation is continuing. The right eastbound lane is expected to remain closed until the load off-loading is completed.
