A massive highway accident in eastern Oregon involving approximately 100 people and 26 cars, left 12 people injured Saturday. Heavy winds and fog, combined with icy road conditions on the stretch of Interstate 84, resulted in a dangerous mix for drivers causing three separate collisions, primarily with semi trucks.
And one 27-year-old man, Kaleb Whitby, has become the public face of the incident, thanks to one wild picture captured by truck driver Sergi Karplyuk, 32, on Twitter.
The image shows Whitby in what used to be his four-door pickup truck, wedged tightly between two semis. Karplyuk’s was one of them, and he eventually helped Whitby escape, but not before snapping the picture above.
Of the dozen people injured, one was transferred to OHSU Hospital in Portland and remains listed in critical condition. Six others remained hospitalized as of Saturday afternoon. Two were listed as stable, and four had been transferred to a sister hospital in Boise.
“I think we’re fortunate that there weren’t any fatalities here,” Oregon State Police Sgt. Kyle Hove told The Oregonian.
Whitby was very fortunate. Against all logic, he was largely unharmed.
“I’ve got two Band-Aids on my right ring finger,” he told The Oregonian. “And a little bit of ice on my left eye.”
“Thank God that I’m still alive,” he continued. “Now I’ve got to go figure out why.”
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