I-84 Eastbound Closed Twice Tuesday Morning By Fatal Crashes

Portland marked its 50th traffic fatality of the year early Tuesday on Interstate 84. Later in the morning, the freeway closed again due to a second fatal crash.

The first occurred shortly after 3 a.m., at NE 7th Ave. Authorities said a car crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer, resulting in one person's death. The driver of the semi remained at the scene of the wreck. That crash is still under investigation. I-84 was closed for nearly five hours in the eastbound direction.

Later in the morning, a second wreck closed all eastbound lanes of the interstate at NE 238th Ave. A multi-vehicle crash there is expected to keep the road closed at Exit 16 near Wood Village until early afternoon.

The Multnomah County sheriff's office said the driver of a dump truck was killed when the driver of another car hit that person. The dump truck driver was outside the vehicle when the crash occurred.

The car that hit the truck flipped over, and that driver suffered minor injuries, according to law enforcement. The sheriff's office said the car driver stayed at the scene to cooperate with investigators.