FLORENCE – A 59-year-old Florence woman was killed and a Eugene woman seriously injured Tuesday afternoon when a 200-yard-long oil slick in the Knowles Creek tunnel on Highway 126 east of Florence led to four cars losing control and colliding.
Oregon State Police said Christine D. Weathers of Florence died and Radiant J. Gaines, 48, of Eugene was seriously injured in one of the collisions about 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Police said Billy Lee Coder, 50, of Myrtle Creek was in a log truck headed west through the tunnel when a catastrophic engine failure caused an oil spill approximately 200 yards long. He was able to park along the highway once he got out of the tunnel, police said.
Mary H. Dale, 65, of Florence, lost control in the oil slick and crashed into the Kenworth before also moving off the highway.
Police said Gaines was also headed west, lost control in the slick, crossed into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with Weathers’ eastbound vehicle. Weathers died at the scene and Gaines taken to a hospital. Coder and Dale were not injured.
The highway was impacted for approximately 9.5 hours during the on-scene investigation.