Police: Two killed when truck tries passing a car in the snow
REDMOND, Ore. -- Two people were killed, another was injured Saturday night when a truck lost control while trying to pass a car in a prohibited zone of Highway 97 just north of Redmond, police said.
Officials said that the incident started on Saturday night when a Ford F-250 was following a Ford Focus on Highway 97 near milepost 114.
At around 6:30 p.m. the truck's driver, Richard Fraker, 68 of Vancouver, tried to pass the car in a prohibited passing zone. The truck lost control on the snow-covered highway and crashed into the side of the passenger car, sending both vehicles off the east side of the highway.
The pickup flipped over, landing on its roof off the side of the road. Fraker and his two passengers Terry Clampitt, 47, and Barbara Fraker, 67 (both from Vancouver, Wash.) were trapped inside the truck's cabin.
The driver of the Focus, Justin Hendrix, 19 of Madras, was able to safely bring his car to a stop. He and the two other passengers inside the car were unhurt.
Richard Fraker and Clampitt (sitting in the front seat) were pronounced dead at the scene. Firefighters extracted Barbara Fraker from the rear seat. She was taken to the St. Charles Medical Center in Redmond with serious injuries.
Sounds like the problem solved itself
Slowing down and stopping, on icy roads, is just asking for trouble. Not only does it increase the odds of them getting hit, it also increases the odds of someone else coming up on them, trying to react, and causing another accident.
It irritates me when people drive slower than the posted speed too, but come on, get serious. They were driving on icy roads. Are you really in that big of a hurry ?
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Just because others feel inconvenienced, by driving slower, it doesn't mean others should endanger themselves, or others, just so a few self important people can drive faster than everyone else...
Going faster might save you 5 or 10 minutes on a long trip. Is it really worth someones life, just to save a few minutes?
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The people that feel this way, are probably the same people that get right on your bumper when you are driving the speed limit, or 5 mph over, and start flashing their lights.
I'm not a truck driver, but I do drive about 3000 miles a month for my job. This guy obviously should have just tried to be a little more patient, but having said that, I witness almost every day, people who go slower than the speed limit by quite a bit and instead of pulling over and letting traffic go by, they let their apparent inflated egos take control and say "screw-it, iIf I'm doing 30 in a 45, everyone else should too."
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This kid should have let the truck go by. He's lucky he and his passengers came through unscathed.
 @OregonOrator Did you read the part that said that driver of the pickup was trying to pass in a prohibited zone? ,,there is a reason why it is prohibited.. NO PASSING! That kid did exactly right and he is still alive because of it
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 @OregonOrator In a snow situation, pulling over to let someone pass isnât practical. Usually, there is only one lane and to have pulled over they probably would have gotten stuck in the snow.
Just get over the fact that often in snow/rain/wind situations you are going to have to slow down and NOT be able to travel the normal speed, behind another vehicle or not.Â
On a great weather day, no rain, wind, snow, sunny dry pavement day, clear skies, etc, yeah, pull  over if you are sightseeing and going slower than the normal safe posted speed.
The âkidâ was in the right in this case, going slow in a very hazardous situation.Â
@angelgabe Besides, he could have just slowed to a stop and let the truck go by. Two people would prob still be alive today.
@angelgabe @OregonOrator Why is it not practical? Stuck in the snow? Are you saying we have had so much snow already that people are getting stuck in the drifts?
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Try again.
 @angelgabe  @OregonOrator That kid was also a local and prob knew how to drive safely in those conditions,, and that is why he and his passengers are still alive
@Whitehawk @angelgabe They may have mot have been involved at all if they let traffic go by.
I too am a "Professional Driver" and Angelgabe, you couldn't of said it better..50 thumbs up!
I have to agree with Angelgabe... I live in Bend, and drive truck from Bend, to Portland, and back 5 days a week.
The stupidity I see almost daily is just mind numbing. In my 30 years of driving truck, I have lost count of the number of times, I have avoided being in an accident, because of stupidity of someone driving a car or pickup....Â
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Much for the same reasons angel listed. Passing on corners, passing in clearly marked no passing zones, and just generally being in a hurry, with no concern of possibly being in, or causing an accident.
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It would be nice if the media, in this case KVAL, would correctly list the vehicle as a PICKUP. NOT a truck.
When people hear the word truck, the automatically assume it was a semi truck. There are truck drivers that aren't any better than some car drivers, but it doesn't help an industry that has already has an image problem.
 @driver mike Thank you Mike..As a "truck driver" I hate the news media using the term "truck" for a pickup.I automatically think its a"big " truck that was involved.Washington drivers are on my top 3 list for the most unsafe drivers in the U.S
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We have family that was leaving Friday morning to come visit from eastern Oregon....they got about 2 hours into their drive and said forget it, turned around, and went back home. There is no where you have to be and no reason to have to hurry to get there that is worth risking your life or others.
Stupid!!!
There is NO reason WHATSOEVERÂ to risk you life or the life of others just to save a few minutes driving time!!!!
I donât care WHAT it is!
Either leave early, and plan for bad weather or plan to get there late, and ALIVE!!!
Iâm a professional driver, and I canât tell you how many times people pass in a single, or worse yet, DOUBLE solid yellow lane!
It is ILLEGAL to do so! There is a reason for this: the road curves, has hilly areas where you canât see far enough ahead, (other vehicles may be in a âdipâ and you canât see them at all) there are driveways, and/or other intersecting roads where another driver may attempt to enter traffic, etc.
PLEASE!!! Respect those signs that indicate a slow curve, solid yellow lines, etc. THEY ARE THERE FOR A REASON!
Arrive at your destination ALIVE, and where others you encounter driving do too.
So sorry for the deaths, no matter how they occur. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of those who died.
@angelgabe If the people who let the traffic stack up behind them would just pull over and let it by as the laws requires, we'd see far fewer of these types of accidents.
 @OregonOrator  @angelgabe Again, fine if the weather and roads are normal and not snow covered. Pulling over in that type of situation often isn't practical. Slow down and just be safe!
Not everyone has a nice new vehicle with all the bells and whistles and can safely drive in inclement weather. Some of us still have older, less reliable vehicles and need to drive slower to drive safe.