Fatal Crash Halts Highway and Ignites Forest Fire (PHOTOS)

The vehicle fire sparked a forest fire in the area that burned around an acre and a half.

Photos courtesy: Oregon State Police

(SWEET HOME, Ore.) - Police say a Bend-area woman was killed Monday afternoon in a head-on collision with a commercial motor vehicle on Highway 20 east of Sweet Home.

Monday at approximately 12:45 p.m., a 2007 Dodge Dakota pickup towing an unknown length travel trailer was traveling eastbound on Highway 20 near milepost 54. A 1989 Kenworth semi truck and trailer was westbound and failed to negotiate a corner, crossing into the eastbound lane where it struck the Dodge Dakota head-on.

The passenger in the Dodge Dakota, 63-year old Ethel Ann Hopkins of Bend, was deceased at the scene. Other motorists were able to pull the driver, 66-year old Craig Scott Hopkins, from the pickup before all vehicles were consumed by fire.

Craig Hopkins is the husband of Ethel Hopkins. He was transported to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend with non-life threatening injuries.

The driver of the semi truck, 28-year old Billy Wayne Floyd of Las Vegas, Nevada, was not injured. A passenger in the truck, 20-year old Matthew Aaron Dizick of Cottage Grove, was also uninjured.

Safety belt use is unavailable.

The vehicle fire sparked a forest fire in the area that burned around an acre and a half.

The fire was suppressed by approximately 20 personnel from the US Forest Service, the Oregon Department of Forestry, and the Sweet Home, Lebanon, and Brownsville Fire Departments. Air support was provided by a helicopter operated by Weyerhauser, Inc.

The semi truck was pulling a carnival ride and was operated by Davis Amusement Cascadia, Inc., of Milwaukie, Oregon. It was reportedly en route to the Benton County Fairgrounds.

Excessive speed is believed to be a factor in the collision.

The investigation is being conducted by troopers from the Oregon State Police Albany Area Command. Troopers from the Bend, Springfield, and Salem OSP area commands also assisted.

Additional assistance on the scene was provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Linn County Sheriff's office, and US Forest Service law enforcement personnel.

Troopers are interested in speaking with any witnesses to the crash or to anyone who observed the commercial vehicle prior to the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call Senior Trooper Scott Hite at 541-967-2026 ext. 4440.