Driver identified in fatal Hwy. 20E truck rollover
An 80-year-old semi-truck driver from Otis, Oregon died Sunday afternoon when his rig flipped along Hwy. 20E about 20 miles east of Bend, authorities said Monday.
Oregon State Police identified the driver Monday as Edgar Howard Collver, of the Lincoln County community.
According to Sgt. Keith Taylor, around 2:50 p.m., Collver’s westbound 1998 Freightliner truck pulling two trailers was heading west on the highway near milepost 21 when he lost control “for an undetermined reason.”
The truck and first trailer rolled onto their top, coming to rest off the highway. The second trailer came to rest partly blocking the westbound lane, Taylor said.
The driver, who was wearing his seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene, the sergeant said.
Assisting at the scene were Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies, Bend and Redmond fire crews, and ODOT.
An AirLink helicopter was “auto-launched” to the crash site, but was dismissed shortly after reaching the scene when it was confirmed to be a fatality.
The westbound lane remained blocked until 10 p.m. Sunday night, with traffic being flagged past the scene in alternating directions. Check the latest status at KTVZ’s TripCheck page.
The trailers were loaded with recycled vehicle parts, which spilled off the trailer, troopers said. The truck is registered to Wurdinger Recycling Inc.
In a post to NewsChannel 21’s Facebook page, Consolidated Towing said it was called in to recover the semi and trailer Sunday night, with the salvage operation on the scrap cars continuing Monday.
It was the weekend’s second fatal crash on Highway 20 in Central Oregon. On Saturday, two Sisters residents were killed when the driver swerved to avoid a deer and lost control, and their car was struck on the side by an oncoming pickup truck on Highway 20 just west of Sisters. Read more details in our story here.
We’ll have more information on Sunday’s fatality at KTVZ.COM as it becomes available, and video from the scene on NewsChannel 21 tonight after NBC’s Sunday Night Football, at 10 on Fox and at 11 on NBC.
