Medical Emergency Causes I-84 Crash

Date: July 9, 2010
Location: I-84 near Boardman, Oregon
Names: Timothy J. Roberts, Hunter Cole

A driver’s medical emergency led to a crash in which he and an 8-year-old boy were injured, according to an OSP press release.

The crash happened around 8:30 AM on July 9, 2010 when Timothy J. Roberts, 33, of Kennewick, Washington, had a medical emergency while driving east on I-84 near Boardman, Oregon. The car Roberts was driving went out of control, veered into the Boardman Rest Area and crashed into two parked semi-trailers, then rolled several times, coming to stop on its wheels.

Roberts and a passenger, Hunter Cole, 8, of Kennewick, received non-life threatening injuries. They were taken by ambulance to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston, Oregon.

State police say that Roberts and Cole were both wearing safety restraints, preventing more serious injuries.

We are very glad Roberts and Cole were safely buckled in and escaped worse injury, and hope this crash will be a reminder to all drivers to use safety restraints whenever they’re driving. We send Roberts and Cole our best wishes for complete recovery.

When a driver passes out due to a medical condition, it can be difficult to figure out whose fault it is. You may be surprised to read this from a personal injury attorney, but it may be nobody’s fault. A freak accident is what we call an “act of God,” and nobody gets blamed. But, here are some other possibilities:

• The driver may have been on medication that specifically stated he shouldn’t drive. That would raise Oregon driver liability issues.
• The driver may have been on medication that did not state he shouldn’t drive, but should have! That would make it the fault of whoever produced, tested, and labeled the medication.
• The driver may have been on medication that should state that he shouldn’t drive, but the pharmacist mislabeled it. Pharmacy’s fault.
• The driver’s doctor may have misdiagnosed a condition, and therefore failed to tell the driver that he shouldn’t be driving.

There’s no way to know what actually happened to cause this tragedy without further investigation. This is certainly a situation that can get complicated fast. A competent Portland personal injury attorney can help guide you through the process.