Washington Truck Driver Killed In Rollover Crash Near Hermiston

HERMISTON, OR — A truck driver from Spokane, Washington, was killed early Friday when he rolled his commercial semi-truck over an interstate highway interchange southwest of Hermiston, according to Oregon State Police.

Troopers from Hermiston and Pendleton were dispatched to the fatal crash at the Interstate-82/Interstate-84 interchange, near I-84 milepost 180, just after 12 a.m. Feb. 9.

Ray Dean Harper, 52, was found ejected from his 2004 Freightliner, which was towing an unloaded flatbed trailer. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, police said.

The investigation revealed Harper failed to properly negotiate the onramp curve as he transitioned from I-84 to I-82, ultimately leaving the roadway and rolling several times through the median.

Harper is the second Washington longhauler to die in Oregon this week.

While traveling south of Dundee on Pacific Highway 99W Wednesday, 46-year-old Dwayne Kemp of Tacoma suffered cardiac arrest behind the wheel of his 2014 Freightliner, which caused him to veer over the grassy median and into the oncoming lanes, where he collided head-on with a Hyundai SUV occupied by three McMinnville residents.

The three residents only sustained minor injuries, police said.

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