BRIEFLY.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Crash near Vida closes Highway 126, injures one

VIDA - A collision between a small car and a commercial truck closed both lanes of Highway 126 east of Vida for five hours Thursday.

The crash occurred about 6:30 a.m. A 2003 Toyota Matrix driven by Patricia Wessman, 61, of Vida was headed west on the two-lane highway, which was covered in snow and slush. The Toyota lost control, fishtailed and crossed into the eastbound lane, where it crashed head-on with a 2006 Mack truck towing two empty chip trailers, Oregon State Police said.

The Toyota came to rest in a ditch north of the roadway. The truck ended up in a ditch to the south. Both trailers jackknifed and blocked the highway.

Wessman was wearing her seat belt, and her car's airbags deployed. She was taken to McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center with minor injuries. A state police trooper cited her for failing to drive within a lane. The trucker, Wayne Stanley Lowry, 43, of Junction City, also used safety restraints. He was not injured.

One lane of the highway had been reopened by 11:30 a.m. Both lanes were open by 1:15 p.m.

- From Register-Guard and news service reports