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Police locate tow truck driver who struck another tow truck driver on I-84

The driver said he reached out to police after seeing reports about the crash on the news.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The tow truck driver who struck another tow truck driver in northeast Portland on Jan. 29 reached out to police after he saw news coverage about what had happened, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) reported Wednesday.

PPB said the man saw news reports about the crash that injured 27-year-old Arthur Walker and thought he might have been involved. He called police and agreed to meet with the investigating officer for an interview. The officer investigated the man's tow truck and found minor damage that was consistent with the crash.

The driver told police he was "blinded momentarily" on I-84 when a tarp from another vehicle landed on his windshield. He told police he "heard a thump" but didn't know what happened. He took the next exit, removed the tarp from his windshield and drove back to see if he'd hit something, but was unable to find anything. Later, when he saw the story on the news, he reached out to police.

Police did not arrest the man or issue any citations.

Walker, the injured tow-truck driver, was released from the hospital Wednesday and is recovering at home, PPB said.

Credit: Northwestern Towing
Arthur Walker, 27, in the hospital.

The crash happened around 6:47 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29 on westbound I-84 between the Northeast 43rd Avenue exit and the overpass at Northeast Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard.

Police found Walker injured and laying on the pavement near his truck when they arrived at the scene. Walker, who suffered a broken arm and leg in the crash, was taken to the hospital.

"It's not every day someone in my industry gets half as lucky as I did," Walker later told KGW from the hospital.

Walker and his colleagues spoke to KGW about the crash and issued a reminder to all drivers of the importance of Oregon's Move Over Law. It requires people to move over a lane if they see emergency vehicles, including tow trucks.

"We don't want to bury our own," Northwestern Towing operations manager James Jerome said. "We don't want to bury anyone. We want to continue going home and doing what we do."

Walker's colleagues at Northwestern Towing launched a Go Fund Me to help with expenses.

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