On July 4, at approximately 11:00 pm an Oregon State Police Trooper was investigating a single vehicle rollover crash on I-5 in the northbound lanes approximately a half mile south of exit 27. The occupants of that vehicle needed medical attention and Mercy Flights and Fire District 5 were on scene to assist. While on scene there was a secondary accident with two uninvolved vehicles. Both of those vehicles struck the ambulance and causing injuries to two Mercy Flights crew and one of the Fire District 5 firefighters. All three were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The two occupants of the original crash were also transported to a local hospital. The original crash is being investigated by the Oregon State Police.
Due to the nature of the crash and limited resources the Oregon State Police requested assistance from the Jackson County Serious Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) team. The STAR team is a joint agency investigative unit consisting of representatives from the Medford Police Department, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, the Ashland Police Department and the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office. The initial investigation into the cause of the second crash determined that neither driver was impaired, while speed is believed to be a contributing factor the case is still under investigation and at this time no criminal charges related to the second crash have been filed.
