It wasn’t a big deal – unless you were stuck on northbound I-205 for a couple of hours after it happened …
The massive backup on I-205, well past the morning rush hour, confounded and irritated many drivers.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
An old pickup truck bed, converted into a trailer, wasn’t up to the job on February 8, as the maroon Toyota pickup truck pulled it north along Interstate 205 about 10:00 a.m.
The trailer, apparently very securely hitched to the truck, started to wobble as it came down the hill from the area of the Division Street onramp, approaching the Washington Street exit.
“Quite simply, the utility trailer full of wood, rocks, and yard debris rolled over,” said Portland Police Bureau Public Information Officer, Sgt. Peter Simpson, about the event. “It overturned the pickup truck as well.”
Traffic, squeezed down to one lane, was allowed to pass – after a street sweeper and ODOT crew cleared debris.
Although well past the rush hour, traffic started building up behind the wreck as police cruisers and emergency response vehicles rushed to the area. Within thirty minutes, traffic was backed up to south of West Linn.
Concerns about the safety of those in the overturned truck were unfounded. “There were no injuries reported,” Simpson told East Portland News. “There was a lot of clean up. No citations were issued.”
After shoveling for nearly an hour, workers finally got the debris cleared from the freeway.
© 2011 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News
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