Injured driver faces drug charges in Sherman Co. crash
A head-on car-truck collision on Highway 97 in Sherman County Friday evening sent an Enterprise man to the hospital with serious injuries and facing reckless driving and heroin possession charges, Oregon State Police said Tuesday.
Around 5:45 p.m. last Friday, a 2005 Audi A5 driven by Caden Jay Christman, 19, was heading north on Highway 97 in the southbound lane, passing traffic in a marked passing zone near milepost 20, when he hit an coming 2012 Volvo semi-truck and trailer driven by Sukhdeep Sing Gill, 31, of Antelope, Calif.
According to Trooper Jacob Ferrer, after impact, the semi-truck and trailer left the road on the northbound shoulder before coming to a stop. The Audi flipped over and came to a rest in the southbound ditch.
Gill was uninjured, but his truck’s fuel tanks ruptured, spilling about 300 gallons of diesel fuel.
Christman was flown by Life Flight helicopter to Emanuel Legacy Medical Center in Portland with serious injuries, Ferrer said.
The trooper said evidence was found in the Audi that pointed to illegal drug use. The case was referred to the Sherman County DA and charges of reckless driving and heroin possession are pending.
The crash blocked Highway 97 for about an hour. OSP were assisted at the scene by the Sherman County Sheriff’s Office, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the North Sherman Fire Department. The Oregon Emergency Response System was notified about the fuel spill and coordinated with ODOT for the cleanup.
