OFF PAGE ONE
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022
Crashes
Continued from A1
crashes that began at around noon near mile-
post 230, stretched 1.75 miles and involved
more than 170 vehicles, according to press
releases from the Oregon Department of
Transportation and Oregon State Police.
OSP on Feb. 22 reported 17 patients were
transported from the crash scene, with an
additional two who were transported after
they arrived at Pendleton Convention Cen-
ter, which served as a reunifi cation hub for
people in the crash.
Interstate 84 shuts down
The mass crash shut down the westbound
and eastbound lanes of the freeway in East-
ern Oregon. Eastbound remained closed
Feb. 21 between Exit 216, 6 miles east of
Pendleton, and Exit 265 at La Grande, while
westbound was closed to between Exit 374
at Ontario and Exit 216.
The Oregon Department of Transporta-
tion announced on Feb. 22 the eastbound
lanes reopened at about midnight, but the
westbound lanes were not clear until about
6 a.m.
Oregon State Police, local law enforce-
ment, fi re and medics from agencies through-
out Umatilla and Union counties responded
to the crashes, along with help from Walla
Walla County in Washington. Pendleton
Fire Chief Jim Critchley said the wrecks
stretched for a mile. The Hyatts described
the emergency response as impressive.
Responding offi cers were notifi ed of
additional crashes while they were arriving,
and then once on scene, offi cers could hear
crashes occurring behind them, according
to a press release from the OSP. The Hyatts
heard those crashes, too.
“Bam, bam, bam,” Carter Hyatt said.
“They just kept hitting.”
Marjorie said the sounds were unnerving.
They stayed in their vehicle, even without
heat, for protection.
Capt. Merle Laci with the La Grande
Fire Department said two ambulances and
one rescue rig were on scene from Union
County, with crews from Union and Island
City fi re departments on standby. The La
Grande Fire Department sent eight person-
nel to the scene.
As of 3:35 p.m. Feb. 21, rescue vehi-
cles and ambulances from the La Grande
Fire Department had returned to the station,
according to Laci. La Grande Fire Depart-
ment confi rmed they had transported three
individuals from the scene to Grande Ronde
Hospital.
Nick Oatley, spokesperson with Umatilla
County Fire District No. 1, confi rmed the Herm-
iston-based fi re department also responded,
sending three ambulances to the scene. Good
Shepherd Medical Center, Hermiston, reported
it did not receive any crash victims.
Carter Hyatt/Contributed Photo
Jacob Hyatt of Yelm, Washington, stands near his family’s Nissan Pathfi nder Monday afternoon, Feb. 21, 2202, following its crash into this trailer
on the westbound side of Interstate 84 near milepost 230. The Pathfi nder was one of 170 vehicles Oregon State Police reported were involved
in a series of crashes in the area starting at about noon.
Hospitals at the ready
Elaine LaRochelle, incident com-
mander at Grande Ronde Hospital, La
Grande, activated the hospital’s incident
command system, according to a press
release from Mardi Ford, public informa-
tion officer.
“We are preparing to support any
patients sent our way with emergency ser-
vices and medical care,” Ford said in the
release. “We do not have any news on dis-
tribution of patients to be sent our way.
However, we are prepared to assist in this
emergency. We are cooperating fully with
all regional partners, including our media
contacts, to do what we can to keep every-
one informed. Our primary mission, how-
ever, is to provide emergency services
and medical care to patients in need. Once
we know more, we will issue an update.”
Emily Smith, director of communica-
tions for St. Anthony Hospital, Pendle-
ton, reported that as of 3 p.m., the hospi-
tal received six patients from the crash.
“The patients’ statuses are unknown at
this time,” she reported, “and no informa-
tion on ages etc. is available to the media
at this time.”
Smith also explained how St. Anthony
responds to these kinds of crises.
“When we receive word of an inci-
dent like this, the hospital activates
Code D, or disaster response,” accord-
ing to Smith. “Available staff (off-duty)
are called and asked to come in based on
current personnel needs as well as staff-
ing for the next shift. Patients are seen
in the Emergency Department as well as
other care areas of the hospital as appro-
priate for their level of injury. We have
an extensive disaster plan that is drilled
with local emergency response teams to
ensure we are prepared for situations like
this when they arise.”
Pendleton Convention Center provides
respite
The Hyatts said emergency personnel
checked on them often, and they appreci-
ated that. And many of the other people
in the crash helped each other, they said,
off ering water and making sure people
were OK.
“There were people, regular people,”
Marjorie Hyatt said. “All that was really
nice.”
When school buses arrived to carry
the Hyatts and so many more off the
mountain, they said they had to cross
the median to the eastbound lanes. Mar-
jorie banged her knee on the fence, but
firefighters were right there to help. And
when they got on the bus, she said, the
Oregon State Police trooper, who was
the person who had checked on them,
assisted them onto the bus.
The buses took groups to the Pendle-
ton Convention Center, where its manager,
Pat Beard, said while the facility was hold-
ing events that day, it opened rooms for the
people in the crash and provided what hos-
pitality it could while they waited for rides
from family or friends or made arrange-
ments for other accommodations.
The center also served as something of
a base of operations for law enforcement,
Umatilla County Public Health and more.
Beard praised the coordination he wit-
nessed between the diff erent groups.
The Hyatts were among the last from
the crash to still be at the convention cen-
ter that evening. Bags of chips and other
snacks lined the long tables of the large
room they were in. A family member was
on the way to help get them home, they
said, probably around 7 that night.
The Nissan, as far as they knew, still
was at the site of the crash. Carter said all
their luggage was in the car, so he antic-
ipated making a trip back to gather their
belongings.
The Hyatts said they had never experi-
enced anything like this emergency, and
they did not want to be in another. But their
concerns were for others.
“I hope everyone gets out,” Marjorie said.
Industry
Continued from A1
city had taken notice of
development in the area.
“Nothing gangbusters,”
Morgan said of the area, his-
torically. “But it was starting
to fi ll up.”
The city, then, was look-
ing for ways to accommodate
small light industrial-type
operations in the future, he
said. Paving Southeast 10th
Street and bringing in utilities
creates access to the parcels
within the area.
SHIP already shows signs
of success, beginning with
Meyer Distributing.
The distribution company
purchased 40 acres on SHIP.
Its warehouse, which recently
began operations with around
70 employees, takes up about
a third of the total Meyer
property, Morgan said. Meyer
plans to expand in the future,
eventually making full use of
the property.
Additionally, A-1 Indus-
trial Hose and Supply is
building a 30,000-square foot
building at the park.
“They’re a good, local,
small light industrial business
that has just been expanding
and expanding and expand-
ing,” Morgan said. “They
don’t need 40 acres, but they
just need a couple of acres at
a time. This was kind of tai-
lor made for an operation like
that.”
Creating employment
diversity
Morgan said he envisions
a future in which several more
businesses like A-1 set up
shop at the industrial park and
help create a diverse employ-
ment base.
“We don’t necessary just
want to have a parcel that’s
200 acres that can accommo-
date one really large devel-
opment,” he said. “This helps
accommodate the machine
shops, the electricians, the
plumbers, those types of oper-
ations that need an acre for a
laydown yard and equipment.”
The city’s interest in a
diverse set of employers is due
to a hard lesson, Morgan said.
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Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Mark Morgan, the city of Hermiston’s assistant city manager,
indicates infrastructure improvements on a map Feb. 16,
2022, at the South Hermiston Industrial Park.
The closure of Hermiston
Foods in 2017 resulted in the
loss of about 200 permanent,
full-time jobs. At the same
time, Union Pacifi c scaled
down some of its machine
shop operations. Though Mor-
gan said large employers are
valued and are important, it
is important for Hermiston to
“not be beholden to one, sin-
gle, large employer.”
Attracting business
Morgan agreed his situa-
tion with SHIP is something
akin to the plot of the 1989
classic baseball movie “Field
of Dreams.” In the fi lm, a
farmer builds a baseball fi eld
in the middle of his crop. A
ghostly voice tells the char-
acter that if he creates the ball
fi eld, people will come.
Likewise, the city has
placed infrastructure and is
looking for businesses to fi ll
the space.
Sometimes, he said, com-
munication with interested
businesses is frustrating.
Companies learn of the area
and express interest, he said.
Then, they sometimes ask to
see the city’s top vacant build-
ings. When he tells them there
are not any vacant buildings,
they lose their excitement for
Hermiston.
He said the best the city
can off er now is space with
electricity, roads and plumb-
ing. SHIP gives businesses
area for development. Mor-
gan called this “economic
gardening.”
“Even though there isn’t
an existing building ready
for somebody to come in, the
ground is ready for someone
to come in,” he said. “They
can throw up a building pretty
darned quick.”
Morgan said SHIP is some-
thing that will bring in new
developments over years.
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