Yesterday, January 21, 2024, at 8:22 am, Tillamook County Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Berger, Oregon State Trooper Jon King, Nestucca Fire and Tillamook Ambulance responded to a report of a car upside down and on fire, in the slide area on Sandlake Road. The occupant, or occupants, had fled the scene prior to police arrival.
“The road has been closed for sometime, but they removed the barrier and road closed signs and drove directly into the hole,” said Deputy Berger. “This has been an ongoing problem, with people removing the barriers and driving on the closed portion of the road. Obviously it is extremely dangerous.”
About an hour after the crash, the owner of the vehicle called 911 to report that the car had been stolen sometime in the early morning hours. The owner’s residence was approximately five miles away from the crash scene. The crash and reported auto theft investigation is ongoing. If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact Deputy Ben Berger at 503-815-3392.
According to Tillamook County Public Works Facebook page, “Do Not move the concrete barriers, cut the chains, etc. Contractor is scheduled to be on site the week of January 29th, 2024 to stabilize the uphill lane. Expected to reopen by the end of March.”
As always, our Tillamook 911 dispatchers coordinated the emergency response and assisted throughout this incident.
