Highway 20 reopens near Santiam Pass after injury car-semi crash brings closure, long backups of holiday travelers
(Update: Initial OSP details; highway cleared)
SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- An injury crash involving a car and a semi-truck closed U.S. Highway 20 just east of Santiam Pass for about two hours Monday afternoon, and holiday travelers encountered long backups in both directions.
The crash was reported around 12:35 p.m. at milepost 79.5, a mile east of the summit, according to ODOT TripCheck. ODOT advised drivers that the road was closed due to the crash and advised them to use an alternate route.
Oregon State Police Captain Kyle Kennedy told KTVZ News the initial report was that "a passenger vehicle possibly lost control and struck a commercial motor vehicle (truck)."
At least one person was taken by ambulance to St. Charles Bend, Kennedy said Kennedy expected to have more information after the on-scene investigation concludes.
Unconfirmed first-responder reports from the scene indicated the highway's westbound lane was going to reopen about an hour later and that a Life Flight helicopter on stand by was no longer needed.
A long traffic backup in both directions could be seen until around 2:40 p.m. on the highway's TripCheck cameras, as many Presidents Day motorists traveled between Central Oregon and the Willamette Valley.
