09-03-2011, 05:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-03-2011, 05:03 PM by PonderThis. Edited 1 time in total.)
This might be the last one, too: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northw...crash.html
![[Image: 9958453-large.jpg]](http://media.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/photo/9958453-large.jpg)
![[Image: 9959129-large.jpg]](http://media.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/photo/9959129-large.jpg)
Excerpt: "The law of unintended consequences was on full display Thursday morning when two vehicles collided along Interstate 5, the drivers apparently distracted by a crowd of more than 100 people who'd gathered to honor three officers hit by a car at the same location 10 years ago.
"This is obviously the last thing we wanted," said Lt. Gregg Hastings, Oregon State Police public information officer. "It's a sad coincidence."
As wrecks go, it was a fender-bender: One driver sustained minor injuries, the other was treated and released, and the northbound lanes were closed for about 30 minutes.
The real damage, though, may have been in the public relations department. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on authorities, who scrambled to point out that the Oregon Department of Transportation used reader boards south of the site warning motorists to slow down.
But in truth, most any driver cruising along Interstate 5 north of Albany and near the Ankeny Hill exit would have turned into a bit of a rubbernecker.
Yes, we know we're supposed to keep on hands on the wheel and look straight ahead.
But if you see uniformed cops, patrol cars and motorcycles, fire trucks and TV mobile units all packed together on a gravel frontage road paralleling the highway – not 40 feet from the shoulder – you have to figure something big is going on.
Who wouldn't have a look-see?
And that's apparently what happened Thursday.
A pickup truck slowed.
A small station wagon following didn't.
The event was to honor two police officers killed in 2001 when they had stopped to help a family whose van had broken down. The driver of a pickup fell asleep at the wheel and his truck veered off the road. The truck hit a patrol car and slammed into the officers. Two died at the scene. Another was permanently injured.
On Thursday, a memorial at the site was to be dedicated and a sign alongside the interstate to be raised.
Press releases had been handed out, sound checks were made and the cameras were ready to roll when all eyes turned to the freeway at the sound of squealing brakes and the unmistakable sound of a crash.
Someone yelled "Oh, my God," and troopers and paramedics at the scene climbed over a barbed-wire fence and hustled to the station wagon to help the driver and stop traffic.
The wreck, Hastings, said, brought back "some bad thoughts for the families of Senior Trooper Maria Mignano and off-duty Albany Police Officer Jason Hoerauf, who had gathered for the memorial ceremony.
Memorial signs –white crosses on the side of the road, for example – are illegal along Oregon roads because they are distracting to motorists, said Dave Thompson, Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman.
"No one can put up a memorial on the side of a highway unless state law allows it," Thompson said. "The legislature created a law specifically for law enforcement, and this was the first sign."
Andy Olson, a former trooper and now in the Oregon House of Representatives, sponsored a bill in the last session that allows ODOT to create roadside memorials for officers killed in the line of duty. The sign erected Thursday bore Migano and Hoerauf's names. Another sign will be place about a mile away on the southbound side.
"Anything that distracts you from driving can be dangerous," Thompson said. "That said, every agency has to follow the law. That's what we did. We are not against this memorial at all. One of our chief executives was at the ceremony. Our sympathies are with the officers."
The ceremony did manage to go on, though authorities moved it about 100 yards away so emergency responders could deal with the accident.
Olson said the sign was a "fitting tribute" to the memory of the two officers who died. He said Thursday's wreck was a reminder that even with the best of precautions – he praised ODOT for having plenty of warning signs up –some wrecks just can't be prevented because drivers can be distracted for a variety of reasons.
Oregon State Police Superintendent Chris Brown said when law enforcement officers are asked why they choose the profession they usually say they want to serve someone other than themselves. He said the loss of any officer leaves an "ache in the heart" of not only the families, but the agency itself.
"When we travel this stretch of highway," he said, "we will think of them and their families."
The sign, he said, is a way to say "thank you," and a reminder that the officers have not been forgotten."
Excerpt: "The law of unintended consequences was on full display Thursday morning when two vehicles collided along Interstate 5, the drivers apparently distracted by a crowd of more than 100 people who'd gathered to honor three officers hit by a car at the same location 10 years ago.
"This is obviously the last thing we wanted," said Lt. Gregg Hastings, Oregon State Police public information officer. "It's a sad coincidence."
As wrecks go, it was a fender-bender: One driver sustained minor injuries, the other was treated and released, and the northbound lanes were closed for about 30 minutes.
The real damage, though, may have been in the public relations department. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on authorities, who scrambled to point out that the Oregon Department of Transportation used reader boards south of the site warning motorists to slow down.
But in truth, most any driver cruising along Interstate 5 north of Albany and near the Ankeny Hill exit would have turned into a bit of a rubbernecker.
Yes, we know we're supposed to keep on hands on the wheel and look straight ahead.
But if you see uniformed cops, patrol cars and motorcycles, fire trucks and TV mobile units all packed together on a gravel frontage road paralleling the highway – not 40 feet from the shoulder – you have to figure something big is going on.
Who wouldn't have a look-see?
And that's apparently what happened Thursday.
A pickup truck slowed.
A small station wagon following didn't.
The event was to honor two police officers killed in 2001 when they had stopped to help a family whose van had broken down. The driver of a pickup fell asleep at the wheel and his truck veered off the road. The truck hit a patrol car and slammed into the officers. Two died at the scene. Another was permanently injured.
On Thursday, a memorial at the site was to be dedicated and a sign alongside the interstate to be raised.
Press releases had been handed out, sound checks were made and the cameras were ready to roll when all eyes turned to the freeway at the sound of squealing brakes and the unmistakable sound of a crash.
Someone yelled "Oh, my God," and troopers and paramedics at the scene climbed over a barbed-wire fence and hustled to the station wagon to help the driver and stop traffic.
The wreck, Hastings, said, brought back "some bad thoughts for the families of Senior Trooper Maria Mignano and off-duty Albany Police Officer Jason Hoerauf, who had gathered for the memorial ceremony.
Memorial signs –white crosses on the side of the road, for example – are illegal along Oregon roads because they are distracting to motorists, said Dave Thompson, Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman.
"No one can put up a memorial on the side of a highway unless state law allows it," Thompson said. "The legislature created a law specifically for law enforcement, and this was the first sign."
Andy Olson, a former trooper and now in the Oregon House of Representatives, sponsored a bill in the last session that allows ODOT to create roadside memorials for officers killed in the line of duty. The sign erected Thursday bore Migano and Hoerauf's names. Another sign will be place about a mile away on the southbound side.
"Anything that distracts you from driving can be dangerous," Thompson said. "That said, every agency has to follow the law. That's what we did. We are not against this memorial at all. One of our chief executives was at the ceremony. Our sympathies are with the officers."
The ceremony did manage to go on, though authorities moved it about 100 yards away so emergency responders could deal with the accident.
Olson said the sign was a "fitting tribute" to the memory of the two officers who died. He said Thursday's wreck was a reminder that even with the best of precautions – he praised ODOT for having plenty of warning signs up –some wrecks just can't be prevented because drivers can be distracted for a variety of reasons.
Oregon State Police Superintendent Chris Brown said when law enforcement officers are asked why they choose the profession they usually say they want to serve someone other than themselves. He said the loss of any officer leaves an "ache in the heart" of not only the families, but the agency itself.
"When we travel this stretch of highway," he said, "we will think of them and their families."
The sign, he said, is a way to say "thank you," and a reminder that the officers have not been forgotten."
