It’s April in the Pacific Northwest, which means one thing of course… hail! No shorts and sandals for us. Don’t pack up those North Face jackets and wool socks just yet. Roseburg, Oregon saw a huge hailstorm yesterday and it caused more than just goose bumps on Oregonians arms. The hail is to blame for a huge chain of collisions on I-5 that luckily only left one person with minor injuries.
The collisions started with a single vehicle that was headed southbound on the highway. It lost traction and began sliding. A Douglas County Sheriff Deputy was driving in the same direction and attempted to avoid hitting the vehicle with his patrol car, but slid on the hail as well and hit the median. Next came a semi, which crashed into the patrol car. The patrol car then took another hit from a fourth and final vehicle. Additionally, other vehicles were involved in collisions, resulting in five vehicles being towed overall.
Talk about a domino affect. It’s easy for things like this to happen when weather conditions suddenly change. Hail comes down hard and fast. If you are driving during a hailstorm and are not able to pull into a garage or shelter, take the following tips to heart:
• Turn on your low beams
• SLOW DOWN
• Increase your stopping distance
• Stay in your car. Do not leave the vehicle
• If your situation permits, pull over to the shoulder of the road. Make sure you are not surrounded by trees. Turn on your emergency flashers
Hopefully the bad spring weather will not be here to stay. Until then, make sure you pay extra close attention to road conditions.