BAKER CITY, Ore. — A Caldwell man died Monday evening after a pair of tires detached from a flatbed trailer and came smashing through his windshield on Interstate 84.
The deadly incident happened at 6:40 p.m. in eastern Oregon near Huntington.
According to Oregon State Police, 38-year-old Hassan Ibrahim of Ohio was headed west in a Freightliner semi when a set of dual tires came off the trailer he was pulling.
The tires bounced across the center concrete barrier into the eastbound lanes and "became airborne to a great height," police said. As tires fell back down, they crashed through the windshield and into the cab of an eastbound semi truck.
The truck driver, identified as 50-year-old James Green of Caldwell, was killed by the impact.
Police say Ibrahim stopped his truck, chained up the broken axle, and kept driving. Investigators have not released whether the driver realized that his loose tires had hit anyone. Troopers found him a short time later near Baker City.
Anyone who witnessed the crash who has not already spoken to OSP is urged to come forward. Police say they are particularly interested in speaking with a man driving a white commercial vehicle who witnesses say stopped and spoke to Ibrahim after the tires detached.
Neither Ibrahim nor his passenger was hurt. No charges have been filed in the case.
The Baker County Sheriff's Office, Huntington Fire Rescue, and Oregon Department of Transportation all assisted OSP on the crash. Interstate 84 was shut down for six hours as troopers investigated.
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