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Two officers dead and one in critical condition with massive internal injuries.
By Dave Northfield, Steve Jefferson, and Jim Parker, KGW Staff
A traffic accident killed two police officers and critically injured a third on Interstate 5, north of Albany Tuesday night. The crash will keep Interstate 5 northbound, between Albany and Salem, closed for much of the night.
Killed in the 7 p.m. accident was a female Oregon State Police trooper and an Albany Police officer, authorities told KGW.
Another OSP trooper was lifeflighted to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, where a nursing supervisor told KGW he was in "very critical condition", undergoing surgery for "massive internal injuries."
OSP identified the injured trooper as a sergeant.
Officers from OSP and the Portland Police Bureau were gathering at the hospital, forming a makeshift vigil for the trooper as he was rushed into surgery.
A police chaplain was also on scene late Tuesday night, the nursing supervisor said.
Authorities said the Albany officer was doing a ride along with an OSP officer when they pulled over to assist a disabled motorist. A second OSP officer pulled up behind them.
All three officers were outside their cars helping the disabled van when a northbound pick-up truck lost control, crossed at least one lane of traffic and veered onto the shoulder. The truck hit all three officers, said Lt. Gregg Hastings, OSP spokesman.
The names of the officers were not being released, Hastings said.
According to OSP, this was the first death of a female trooper in the line of duty. The agency's Web site said 26 troopers had died while on duty since 1931, all of them men.
The driver of the pickup truck was taken to Salem Memorial Hospital for treatment, Hastings said. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, he said.
Dave Davis, a spokesman with the Oregon Department of Transportation, could not say how long the highway would be closed, but said it would be for "an extended period of time."
Northbound traffic along the interstate was diverted at the Jefferson exit, north on Route 99E.
Accident reconstructionists were on scene late Tuesday night, Davis said.
By Dave Northfield, Steve Jefferson, and Jim Parker, KGW Staff
A traffic accident killed two police officers and critically injured a third on Interstate 5, north of Albany Tuesday night. The crash will keep Interstate 5 northbound, between Albany and Salem, closed for much of the night.
Killed in the 7 p.m. accident was a female Oregon State Police trooper and an Albany Police officer, authorities told KGW.
Another OSP trooper was lifeflighted to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, where a nursing supervisor told KGW he was in "very critical condition", undergoing surgery for "massive internal injuries."
OSP identified the injured trooper as a sergeant.
Officers from OSP and the Portland Police Bureau were gathering at the hospital, forming a makeshift vigil for the trooper as he was rushed into surgery.
A police chaplain was also on scene late Tuesday night, the nursing supervisor said.
Authorities said the Albany officer was doing a ride along with an OSP officer when they pulled over to assist a disabled motorist. A second OSP officer pulled up behind them.
All three officers were outside their cars helping the disabled van when a northbound pick-up truck lost control, crossed at least one lane of traffic and veered onto the shoulder. The truck hit all three officers, said Lt. Gregg Hastings, OSP spokesman.
The names of the officers were not being released, Hastings said.
According to OSP, this was the first death of a female trooper in the line of duty. The agency's Web site said 26 troopers had died while on duty since 1931, all of them men.
The driver of the pickup truck was taken to Salem Memorial Hospital for treatment, Hastings said. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, he said.
Dave Davis, a spokesman with the Oregon Department of Transportation, could not say how long the highway would be closed, but said it would be for "an extended period of time."
Northbound traffic along the interstate was diverted at the Jefferson exit, north on Route 99E.
Accident reconstructionists were on scene late Tuesday night, Davis said.
