A truck transporting large load of bees overturned Sunday afternoon at the junction of Highways 97 and 197, spilling the load onto the road and closing down all lanes of traffic on highway 197. While there were no reports of bee stings, a passenger was sent to the hospital with minor injuries sustained in the accident, said authorities.
Oregon State Police (OSP) troopers responded to the accident shortly before 2:30 p.m. on December 3 and found a 1998 Freightliner truck transporting a large load of bees had overturned after losing control at the junction of Highways 97 and 197. The bees were eventually moved to the shoulder of the highway for later reloading onto another vehicle after blocking all lanes of Highway 197.
A truck transporting a large load of bees overturned at the junction of Highways 97 and 197, spilling the load and blocking traffic. OSP Photo
The driver of the vehicle, 22-year old Cuteberto Guadarrama Diaz of Aloha, Oregon was uninjured, but was cited by troopers for failing to maintain a lane of travel.
According to an OSP news release, the passenger, identified as 27-year old Hermelinda Alcantar Cortes of Aloha, received minor injuries and was transported to Mt. Hospital in Madras.
Local emergency responders and Oregon Department of Transportation personnel assisted OSP at the scene.