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I-205 Semi-truck Collides With Several Vehicles In Crash That Kills 1, Injures 2

September 7, 2005

A Portland man was killed and two others critically hurt when a semi-truck recklessly crossed over the median and barreled down the wrong way along Interstate-205 at milepost 16, colliding with several vehicles.

The wreck occurred on Wednesday evening and as a result, all lanes of I-205 southbound and one lane northbound near Johnson Creek Blvd. were closed.

It took many hours through the night as emergency crews tended to the injured and state police investigators probed the crash scene.

A crash reconstruction team was attempting to simulate the crash to determine what had happened to cause the truck driver to lose control, said Police.

According to witnesses the truck veered over the interstate median at around 6:30 p.m. and made contact with two sport utility vehicles head-on. One of the SUVs spun out of control and hit another minivan.

The truck and its empty trailer kept moving after the collision and fell down a grass embankment on the west side of the freeway and into some trees next to a paved bike path.

The truck finally came to a stop after passing through a chain link fence and partially blocking a bike path.

According to police, the investigation was very complex and there was reason to believe that the crash investigation team was looking for signs that would indicate a possible crime scene.

The driver of one of the SUVs, 49-year old James J. Hobuss, was killed immediately in the head-on collision.

The passengers of the other SUV were a Seattle couple that received critical injuries in the wreck.

Sarah S. Wilt, 49, and Kurt Vonfuchs, 38, were hospitalized at Oregon Health Sciences University. Their conditions were changed from critical to serious later that evening.

The driver from Chicago, Illinois was not injured. The driver was identified as 46-year old Miodrag Djukanovich. The driver of the minivan, 35-year old Olga Varivuda from Oregon City, was also uninjured

KID'S TOY CAPS BURN LEG in possible product liability case

An 11-year-old Everett boy is in recovery after suffering severe burns on his leg caused by 'ring caps' that unexpectedly exploded while he was carrying them in his pocket.

Jacob Lopez, 11, was playing on his bicycle on his street when the caps suddenly went off and the fires burnt him. The fires caused second-degree burns on the outside of his leg.

The mother of the child was shocked to learn that the cause of his injuries was the caps to the gun. She did not know what to think because the caps are a common and very popular kid's toy.

The reason for their instantaneous explosion is still a mystery.

The doctors at the hospital who treated the burns reported that they had not had any other cases where this had happened. However, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission warned of the danger in 1979.

The caps' package does contain warnings to avoid pointing toy guns at another person, but there are no specific warnings about the risk of serious burns that can inflict pain on children and their parents.