In a harrowing incident early Saturday morning, a driver miraculously escaped with only minor injuries after his vehicle veered off Interstate 5, collided with a light pole, and burst into flames. The accident occurred on the southbound ramp to Interstate 84 eastbound at approximately 12:33 a.m., as reported by KGW.
According to the Portland Police Bureau, the driver of the white BMW was navigating the Water Avenue exit at Yamhill when control was lost, leading the car to fly over the side and plummet about 80 feet onto Water Avenue. Rescue teams found the car, engulfed in fire and nearly 100 feet from where it ran off, after shearing off the light pole that landed on the Morrison Bridge viaduct. Investigators are looking into "extreme speed and alcohol impairment" as possible factors in the crash, the Portland Police officers, Portland Fire & Rescue, and AMR mentioned.
KPTV details that the responders worked swiftly to extinguish the blaze and extract the driver from the wreckage before transporting him to the hospital. The seemingly miraculous survival echoes the treacherous nature of this particular stretch of the interstate, where three fatalities occurred in similar circumstances last year.
In an ongoing conversation about road safety in Portland, this incident has reinvigorated concerns regarding the Water Avenue exit. Prompting investigations into the crash's causality, officials have not delineated exactly how the car managed to plunge from the bridge into the side of a building, KATU reported.
