Truck hits, kills man who was walking on foggy I-5
AZALEA, Ore. -- A pedestrian died after being hit by a vehicle on Interstate 5 early Wednesday morning.
The investigation closed a lane of I-5 southbound for 5 hours.
The victim was identified as Jason Daniel Fugazzi, 26, of Beaverton, Ore.
Oregon State Police received a call around 6:20 Wednesday morning reporting a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian near milepost 88 on southbound I-5.
A 2003 Ford crew cab pickup truck driven by Carl Ford, 80, of Azalea, Ore., was traveling in the slow lane of traffic when Ford encountered Fuggazi walking in the middle of the travel lane, state police said.
Due to dark conditions and possible fog, the driver of the Ford pickup did not have enough time to react.
"The pickup impacted the pedestrian towards the right front of the hood area and that caused the body to travel probably at least 175 feet down the roadway where it came to rest," Sgt. Steve Mitchell with OSP said.
An off-duty Glendale ambulance was nearby and responded almost immediantly but found the pedestrian dead on the scene.
An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death.
"We have a handful of pedestrian crashes a year," Mitchell said. "Sometimes they're because they're intoxicated. It's hard to say what prompted him to be out in the middle of the freeway at 6:30 in the morning."
The slow lane of southbound I-5 near exit 88 was closed for nearly 5 hours. State troopers were on scene unil around noon Wednesday to reconstruct the scene and collect evidence.
The drivers of two vehicles behind the Ford pickup were witness to accident. No other injuries were reported.investigate the case.
