At 3:55 p.m. today, multiple callers reported a crash on the Interstate 5 northbound Nyberg Street off-ramp. Initially, it was reported that one vehicle was on its top, and the driver was entrapped. As Tualatin Police arrived, they communicated to firefighters that multiple vehicles were involved and that a second patient was entrapped in a vehicle that came to rest on its side.
The first-arriving crew assessed the total number of patients and their status to prioritize the most critical. They also pulled a hose line as gas and fumes leaked from multiple vehicles. TVF&R’s truck and heavy rescue crews arrived and focused on the extrication of the two patients who were entrapped in two separate vehicles. Due to the precarious position and proximity of the two vehicles, they worked first to stabilize the vehicles utilizing a system of struts and shoring devices.
Additional fire crews arrived to check and treat patients in the other four vehicles. Thankfully, there were only minor injuries, and no other drivers or passengers required transport.
One of the patients in the overturned vehicle was rapidly extricated and transported to a nearby trauma center in critical condition. The second patient, in the vehicle on its side, required more extensive extrication to remove them from the vehicle safely and was also transported in critical condition.
Oregon State Police will be investigating the cause of the crash.
