If you were heading back from the Palmer Snowfield Sunday afternoon you no doubt saw the upside-down car in the ditch.
Well the driver is okay. And yeah, he was going too fast.
Oregon State Police spokesman Lieutenant Gregg Hastings told Shred Hood Monday that a 23-year-old man from Hillsboro skidded on some gravel in the center of Timberline Road, lost control of his Toyota Corolla, skidded off the road and flipped over into the roadside ditch.
The driver was shaken but not injured. Police cited him for Careless Driving.
Timbeline Road was a bit slick early in the morning Sunday, but it was ice-free by the time of the incident, 2:26 pm. Still, that gravel can be tricky in the curves if you’re not paying attention or going too fast.
Even with his ticket and his banged-up car, the driver should count himself as lucky. Car crashes on Mount Hood that cause injury or death are not uncommon. Seventy-five crashes that killed three people and injured 69 created the impetus for the three-year rock-blasting project on Highway 26 in the vicinity of Silent Rock.
And the rock-blasting project is just one of dozens of projects that transportation experts are considering to make driving on the mountain safer. This includes alternative transportation projects to get cars off the road. The latest example of that is the new public bus line connecting Sandy to Timberline.
Some other ideas under consideration:
- A reconfiguration of the dangerous intersection of Hwy. 26 and Ski Bowl West
- A parking and transit hub in Govy for an improved shuttle bus system on the mountain
- An aerial tram connecting Skibowl, Government Camp and Timberline Lodge
- New rumble strips to warn drivers that they are straying from their lanes
- Improved access to Hwy. 26 from Government Camp Loop West.
What do you think? What’s your best solution to lessen traffic on the mountain and improve safety?
Last modified: October 15, 2013
