Posted on 12/30/2012 3:28:05 PM PST by jimbo123
A tour bus careened through a guardrail on an icy Oregon highway and several hundred feet down an embankment Sunday, killing five people and injuring about 20 others, authorities said.
The charter bus carrying about 40 people lost control around 10:30 a.m. on the snow- and ice-covered lanes of Interstate 84 in eastern Oregon, according to the Oregon State Police.
Lt. Greg Hastings said the accident happened on the west end of the Blue Mountains, and west of an area called "Deadman Pass," where stretches of the highway tend to be icy in winter months.
(Excerpt) Read more at grandforksherald.com ...
“don’t the ODOT have sand salt and plows?”
If you’ve ever driven that stretch in the winter, you’d understand that sand and salt and plows would do no good.
Your windshield wipers can’t keep up with the snow on the front window.
I used to drive that pass every week going from Seattle or Portland to Salt Lake City and back. That can be a nasty bitch of a mountain with snow and ice on it.
As an Oregonian now living in northern Ontario, I would say that those who decide not to make the trip take it the most seriously. I’d hate to be a driver on some sort of schedule.
“The biggest problem is the State of Oregon and it’s inability to deal with snow and ice.”
They should just close the road, but since it’s an interstate I don’t think they can do that. Anyway it changes hour to hour, and if they closed the road people would be stuck in their cars or trucks.
It’s best just not to make the trip in the winter if you can avoid it.
ODOT is TERRIBLE about handling cabbage and deadman's pass.
I've had ODOT officers stop me from putting on chains at the bottom, tell me the chain restrictions were lifted and to get rolling. Only to get half way up wishing I had chains on then getting forced to stop and put on chains in the slow lane cause the shoulder was absolutely undrivable.
I’ve encountered snow and sleet on that stretch of highway in June. I had to drive right behind a truck so I could drive in his tracks and not fishtail all over the place.
I’ve driven that road under bad conditions as well. I was barely crawling the ice was so bad. Some guy went around me doing fifty, and of course a few miles up the road we caught up and he was upside down in the ditch.
As an Oregonian now living in northern Ontario, I would say that those who decide not to make the trip take it the most seriously. I’d hate to be a driver on some sort of schedule.
Absolutely a state can close an interstate! Happens in the Midwest frequently in the winter.
Ordinary roads, under ‘right-of-way’ and with unlimited access are harder to close.
Here’s a link to the live Cam... It doesn’t look to bad at the moment. Check it again in an hour and it could be different.
http://www.oregontravels.com/_roads/ne_I84_CabbageHill_DeadmanPass_623.html
One time I slept at the rest area at the top cause wasn’t going down the mountain in the dark. Woke up and it was bright and sunny and no snow. Road report still said chains so I did, in a t-shirt(!) cause it was warm at the top, and was joking to the Gordon driver parked next to me about chaining in a t-shirt.
Got half way down and the best thing to describe it was a “frozen hell”. Just needed to go to Hermiston, then Pasco, then back up the mountain. In Summer would take about 3 hours total including loading and unloading times.
Took me ALL DAY and never made it out. Slept at the scale house on US-12 just outside Wallula, WA. Woke up and there was about an inch thick sheet of ice covering the whole valley.
Finally got up to the top of the mountain and bright and sunny again. Took off my chains and made 65 from the rest area all the way to Boise.
RIP.
I have to ask: did you pull over to help?
(I only wonder ‘cause I’ve had guys fishtail past me on winter mountain roads and as they sail along I always think, If you crack up I’m going right on by...never had to do it though, thank goodness)
I’ve driven it white knuckles winter and summer also! Three years ago in August when they were working on it at night it was a nightmare to drive! But winter—from Hermiston all the way to Cascade Locks with seven inches of snow or slush—aargh!
He already had help, and I had a van full of kids to look out for. :-)
I would guess that the bus was going to or coming from the Wildhorse Casino near Pendleton .....probably mostly older people.....
Interstates get closed for weather all the time. I-80 in CA across the Sierras closes regularly. We drove I-5 last week from CA to Seattle — the southern stretch over the passes in So Oregon was closed to trucks — hundreds of semis lined the shoulder near Ashland, OR.
Also, “The Grapevine” grade on I-5 in Southern Cal is regularly closed due to snow and ice weather.
Thanks for the explanation. I was wondering why tourists would be traveling in that weather.
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