Runaway hay truck, trailer crashes in alley next to channel

A semi truck and trailer, which sustained brake failure while descending the Palouse Highway hill into Colfax early Monday morning, came to a halt in the west alley behind the Almota Elevator Co. office. The driver was able to turn the truck, which was headed for the S. Palouse River channel, into the alley.

The trailer of the semi with a load of hay collided with the front of a flatbed GMC truck which was parked along the curb at the corner leading into the alley.

Driver Ken Meldrum, Richland, said the braking system on the truck didn't feel right as he descended the grade at about 5 a.m. Meldrum couldn't stop the truck and estimated he was rolling at about 20 miles an hour when he came to the Main Street intersection.

The light at the intersection was red, and Meldrum said he believed he could have made the turn onto Main Street, but he couldn't get a look to see if other vehicles were in the intersection and opted to roll one more block.

When he was making the corner into the alley, the semi trailer hit the front of the 2013 GMC 3500 flatbed. The truck was owned by Greg Harazin, proprietor of Greg's Electric, which is at the southwest corner of Main and Canyon. This is the second time in six weeks one of the company's trucks have been hit by a runaway vehicle off the Palouse Highway grade.

Meldrum, who was not hurt, said he was aware that the flood channel was at end of the street, so he made the attempt to swing into the alley. The load of hay weighed approximately 30 tons, and Meldrum said he didn't want to have all that mass behind him in the event the truck dropped down into the river channel.

"It seemed like I had a lot of time to think about it," he commented.

The load of timothy hay was being hauled to Ellensburg.

Cargo belts kept most of the loaded bales from falling off the truck and trailer, which came to a halt at an angle.

Two of the springs on the trailer were broken by the impact of the curb leading into the alley.

Loaders were on the scene that morning to get the bales off the truck. The truck and trailer were checked out and another truck hauled off the bales later in the day.