Truck accident ends with minor injuries

Sweet Home Fire and EMS and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call on May 23 regarding a car crash in the 44700 block of North River Drive and Quartzville Road, just past the “second bridge.”

According to Lieutenant Brian Hardy of the Linn County Sheriff’s Department, 81-year-old John Patton was driving his 2004 F150 north on Quartzville Road and was about to turn onto North River Drive.

Patton was behind a truck and a camper trailer, preventing him from seeing if the curve was clear. As he was about to turn, Kyle Shilling, 22, was driving his 1997 Toyota Tacoma south on Quartzville Road, approaching the intersection.

Schilling estimated his speed to be about 40-45 miles per hour. Schilling stated that he attempted to avoid a collision with Patton’s truck by swerving to the right, causing Patton’s truck to strike the left front wheel area. Both trucks ended up hitting a guardrail, causing significant damage to both vehicles.

A passenger in the Tacoma was taken to Sweet Home Emergency Room with minor injuries. Rice’s Towing and AA Towing-Lebanon responded to the scene and recovered the vehicles.