Woman burned after I-5 traffic accident

An Oregon woman suffered minor burns while escaping a vehicle that went up in flames on Interstate 5 on Wednesday, at the Maxwell overpass north of town.

Brian Anthony Geck, 28, of Newberg, and passenger Desiree Leigh Idler, 28, were traveling north around 5:15 p.m. when the drive-line under Geck’s 1998 Chevrolet S-10 pickup broke free of the transmission, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The drive-line then dropped to the ground, digging into the asphalt roadway, causing the rear tires to rise up.
Geck lost control of the vehicle, according to CHP Public Information Officer John Waggoner, and the vehicle spun around onto the right shoulder, striking the guardrail and rupturing the fuel tank.

As the pickup slid along the guard rail, sparks ignited the fuel, the CHP said.

The pickup came to a rest, facing south, along the guardrail, at which time Geck and Idler saw the fuel igniting in front of their vehicle.

As Idler exited the vehicle, she stepped into a puddle of fuel, which ignited, burning her foot and lower leg, the CHP said.

The vehicle then caught fire and was fully engulfed upon the arrival of emergency personnel.
Idler was transported to Colusa Regional Medical Center with minor burns.

The fire spread to the dry grass along the freeway, down to the Interstate 5 northbound on-ramp, off Old Highway 99W, but was extinguished by Maxwell volunteer firefighters before it spread.

The vehicle was completely destroyed by fire, the CHP said.