OREGON CITY, OR — Five people were hospitalized, including four with critical injuries, after a head-on crash that shut down Highway 213 about five miles south of Oregon City Monday morning.
Officials said the wreck involved a car and a box truck near the intersection with Henrici Road around 7:30 a.m. Clackamas Fire said two people were trapped in their vehicles and had to be extricated by firefighters.
Initial reports from emergency crews said four people were taken to the hospital in critical condition, but fire officials later confirmed a fifth person was also transported.
Crash happened near OR-213 and Henrici Road around the morning commute
The collision took place on OR-213 near Henrici Road, a spot that sits south of Oregon City and serves drivers moving through the area in the early morning commute.
Because the crash blocked the highway, travel in the area was disrupted for hours after the wreck. Emergency responders remained at the scene while crews worked to remove the injured and clear the roadway.
No immediate information was released about what led to the crash or whether any of the people involved were inside the car or the box truck.
Firefighters freed two trapped victims from the wreckage
Clackamas Fire said two of the injured were stuck inside their vehicles when crews arrived. Firefighters had to cut or otherwise work to remove them before they could be taken for medical care.
That kind of rescue can take time on a highway crash scene, especially when two vehicles collide head-on and the impact leaves passengers pinned. Fire officials did not say how long the extrication took, but the scene required a coordinated response from emergency crews.
The condition of the two people who were trapped was not separately identified, beyond the broader report that four of the five patients had critical injuries.
ODOT warned drivers to slow down near emergency responders
The Oregon Department of Transportation urged drivers in the area to slow down and watch for emergency responders. The warning came while crews were still dealing with the crash scene on Highway 213.
That advice reflected the risks that come with traffic backups and roadside emergency work, especially on a busy route where vehicles may be forced to merge or stop suddenly.
ODOT later said the crash had been cleared at about 12:30 p.m., ending the closure that had lasted much of the morning.
Highway reopened after hours of closure south of Oregon City
By midday, the blocked stretch of Highway 213 was reopened after the crash scene was cleared. The closure had affected traffic for drivers heading south of Oregon City during the busiest part of the morning.
Officials did not release names of the people injured, and no additional details were provided about their ages or whether any further charges or investigations were expected.
For drivers in the area, the incident served as a reminder that even a short stretch of highway can become dangerous quickly when a head-on collision forces emergency crews to close the road and work from the shoulder.
What officials have said so far about the wreck
So far, emergency agencies have confirmed only the basic facts: the crash involved a car and a box truck, it happened near Henrici Road around 7:30 a.m., and five people were taken to the hospital.
Clackamas Fire has said four of those patients were critically injured, and ODOT has confirmed the highway was cleared shortly after noon. Beyond that, authorities have not released a cause for the crash.
The response drew together fire crews and transportation officials, with the main priority shifting from rescue to keeping other drivers away from the scene until the roadway could reopen.