A white Dodge pickup truck crashed into the building housing Canby Auto Import and Ace Glass Company on Highway 99E this morning, causing significant damage and injuring the vehicle’s driver.
Canby Fire Division Chief Matt English said the truck left the roadway for unknown reasons and crashed through the 1940s-era structural-clay-tile facade and a large window of the front wall entryway — coming to a stop about 20 feet inside.
Canby Police Chief Jorge Tro said no eyewitnesses to the crash have yet come forward, but it appears the driver, a male estimated in his mid-40s, was traveling westbound on 99E when he crossed traffic and collided with the auto shop.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Canby Police non-emergency number at 507-223-7211.
The crash occurred shortly after 7:30 a.m. Emergency crews with Canby Fire District and Canby Police arrived to find the driver unresponsive, but it was unclear if this was because of injuries stemming from the crash, or a pre-existing medical issue that may have been a factor in it.
The driver was transported to the Clackamas County Fairgrounds, where a Life Flight air ambulance lifted him to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
Alex Carlberg, of Canby Import, said two employees — a secretary from Ace and front-counter associate for the auto shop — were in the building at the time. The Canby Import employee and a passer-by assisted the driver immediately after the crash before paramedics arrived on the scene.
“He was still stuck on the accelerator,” Carlberg said of the driver. “He was awake, but wasn’t responsive, so they had to work to get him out.”
Most of the damage was sustained by Ace Glass, whose offices and counter are on the north side of the building. Ace’s counter and an interior wall were damaged in the crash.
Carlberg said the building’s owners are already working with their insurance provider, and a temporary covering was installed at the crash site Wednesday while arrangements are being made. He expects that both Canby Import and Ace Glass will continue to operate while the repairs are underway.
Constructed circa 1913, the building was the longtime home of Eversole Motors, a Canby-based Ford-Mercury dealership, from 1944 to 1974.
The business was owned and operated by Rex Eversole, who was mayor of Canby for several terms in the ’50s as well as a former city councilor.
The dealership was run by Dale Matzke and Warren Feller under the name D&W Ford for a number of years after Eversole retired in 1966.
In 1979, the dealership relocated to its current location on Highway 99E, where it’s better known by the name Canby Ford.
