Tanker falls in ditch, shuts down SR 27

A tanker truck blocked State Route 27 at the south Oakesdale city limits Monday afternoon, after it slipped into a steep ditch at the intersection of the highway and Gardener Road.

The truck had just dropped off its load of anhydrous ammonia at the Oakesdale Wilbur Ellis plant.

Rick Chappell, who was working within eyeshot at RMK Farm’s elevator in Oakesdale, said it was the second truck to fall in the ditch in the past week. He said he had seen three trucks succumb to the ditch in the past 14 and a half years, adding RMK trucks rarely attempt to make the tight right turn onto the highway.