A driver who fell asleep at the wheel Monday morning and struck a weigh station that’s being renovated suffered a broken neck, according to Washington State Patrol.
The crash happened about 3:45 a.m. on northbound Interstate 5 near Milepost 15.4, about a mile north of Ridgefield, emergency dispatch logs show.
The driver, whose identity has not yet been released, entered into the Port of Entry in Ridgefield and veered into a guardrail. His vehicle then rolled and struck a light pole, and something subsequently crashed into the scale house, shattering a window, Trooper Will Finn said.
The weigh station, built in the 1960s, closed Oct. 19, 2018, to undergo a $3.7 million renovation project, according to Columbian archives. The checkpoint looks for several potential violations from truckers, from improperly secured cargo to failure to log enough sleep hours. But the most common is overweight violations.
“So new, it’s not even open yet!!! Ribbon cutting will definitely be delayed!” Finn posted on Twitter.
The driver was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver. Troopers initially thought he suffered minor injuries; however, they later learned he suffered a broken neck. Finn said the man is in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
