Vida man hospitalized after his vehicle was impaled by falling tree
By Noah Chavez
Click here for updates on this story
VIDA, Ore. (KEZI) — A man and his two dogs are lucky to be alive after their vehicle was impaled by falling trees while they were on Highway 126 in Vida during a heavy windstorm. First responders said they were shocked to see that anyone in the vehicle survived.
The McKenzie Fire District is familiar with saving people from car wrecks along Highway 126 because the changing conditions often catch drivers off guard. Lane Palahniuk is part of the McKenzie Fire District and was sent out to assist with a reported fallen tree on the highway on February 24. Palahniuk said they were first alerted that there was a landslide in the area, and that several cars may be involved.
“To see the roof caved in through the whole front and a tree through it is kind of a different feeling,” Palahniuk said.”We’re thinking getting chainsaws, cutting up trees, moving rocks, moving mud, and ripping up the car and getting extraction, but fortunately we didn’t have to.”
This section of Highway 126 runs along a steep hillside that was burned in the Holiday Farm Fire. For years neighbors, living along it said everything from tree limbs to boulders have fallen down onto the roadway. Mike Vanbingenen has lived within earshot of the Leaburg Dam where the incident occurred. Vanbingenen said the area commonly sees crashes caused by debris or poor driving.
“It’s typical for what happens here when the trees fall or the rocks fall from that particular slope on this particular turn right at milepost 24,” Vanbingenen said.
Although every crash is different, everyone collectively agreed that Highway 126 although serene has to be respected. With an abundance of dead trees, torched soil and other debris hanging alongside the roadway, they added that any sign of bad weather raises everyone’s awareness. Tina Oyervides is a manager at the nearby Ike’s Pizza on Highway 126. Oyervides said because the area is so burned out, trees have broken all along the McKenzie River Valley.
“A lot of the trees are burned or gone so that left no wind barrier so that wind whips through here it takes out everything. When it gets like that, you hear crackling trees all around you,” Oyervides said.
A family friend of the driver said the driver’s two dogs were in the car when the tree hit, and they thankfully survived the ordeal. Unfortunately, the driver suffered a broken vertebra, leaving him paralyzed and unable to move his upper body. The driver is undergoing surgery.
“Thank god the guy survived, and I know it must have been a real shocker for him. When we drive this road people who live up here know this road is dangerous,” Oyervides said.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
