October 20, 2022 9:50 a.m.   

A California Man died in a fatal accident on Interstate Five in Linn County Wednesday afternoon, only hours after dozens of vehicles were involved in a crash that also claimed one life.

An Oregon State Police report said at approximately 2:10 p.m. troopers and emergency personnel responded to the crash in the southbound lanes of the freeway, a couple of miles north of Brownville.

A preliminary investigation revealed a semi-truck operated by a Sacramento man was stopped in the slow lane due to an earlier crash. A second semi-truck, operated by 63-year old Kirpal Singh of Yuba City, collided with the first semi-truck and caught fire. This caused a chain reaction accident with an SUV and a sedan also struck from behind.

Kirpal Singh sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased. The other three drivers were not injured.

Interstate 5 was closed for approximately 8 hours while troopers and an OSP Reconstruction Unit investigated the scene.

In the first multi-vehicle accident, 15 to 20 commercial motor vehicles and 30 to 40 passenger vehicles got tangled up, with one fatality and many injuries. That wreck took place at around 9:00 a.m. Dense fog in the area is believed to have contributed to that accident.