Early morning Ladd Canyon crash claims one life
Oct. 3—LA GRANDE — An Idaho man died and two other adults were injured in a single-vehicle rollover crash shortly after midnight on Monday, Oct. 3, on Interstate 84, 9 miles east of La Grande.
Oregon State Police reported Craig J. Wickham, 61, of Boise, was driving a white Ford F350 pulling a 16-foot cargo trailer westbound on the freeway. At about 12:09 a.m. the pickup and trailer left the road and rolled, and the trailer became separated from the pickup. Wickham died at the crash.
Timothy Yates, 59, of Nampa, Idaho, and Leanne Huggins, 54, of Challis, Idaho, were the only passengers in the pickup. A LifeFlight Network helicopter flew Huggins to a medical center in the Tri-Cities area in Washington, and a ground ambulance took Yates to Grande Ronde Hospital, La Grande.
The crash occurred in the westbound lanes of I-84 on the last curve coming out of Ladd Canyon.
Interstate 84 westbound lanes were closed for approximately one hour while the OSP Collision Reconstruction Unit investigated the scene. Driver fatigue, vehicle overloading and seatbelt use are all being investigated as contributing factors to the crash. OSP Sgt. Travis Moody said it does not appear drugs or alcohol were factors.
In addition to OSP and Life Flight, the La Grande Fire Department, La Grande Rural Fire Department, Union County Sheriff's Office and Oregon Department of Transportation responded to the crash.
Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer. Contact him at 541-624-6016 or dmason@lagrandeobserver.com.
