Pair pulled from car seconds before explosion
WOODBURN, Ore. (AP) - A Portland-area couple were pulled to safety from their burning pickup Monday afternoon just before an explosion engulfed the entire vehicle in flames on Interstate 5 south of Woodburn, Oregon State Police said.
Fred and Claudine Stock, both 74, were rescued by two people who stopped to help - Merle Stutzman, 59, of Hubbard, and Nathaniel Merrill, 22, of Corvallis, said Recruit Trooper Jennifer Russell.
Fred Stock was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital with serious burns. His wife suffered minor burns and paramedics cleared her to leave with her daughter, who had been traveling in front in a separate vehicle.
The Stocks were driving a pickup-camper rig and towing a loaded boat trailer on their return from a camping trip at Detroit Lake. As they headed northbound, the boat trailer began to fishtail.
Stock was unable to keep the pickup under control and both pickup and boat trailer slid sideways from the far right lane into the center median, where they struck the cable barrier and flipped over, the state police said.
A fire began in the pickup and was spreading when Stutzman and Merrill pulled the Stocks out, Russell said.
Witnesses said a loud explosion, possibly from propane tanks, shook the vehicles less than 30 seconds later and both pickup and boat were engulfed in flames.
The left northbound lane of I-5 was closed for about 90 minutes as firefighters extinguished the blaze.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
