Five Injured in Highway 140 Crash

Five people are injured in a two car crash on a slick and icy Highway 140.

The crash happened at milepost 27 at about 11:30 a.m. Friday morning.

Traffic in both directions was stopped for more than an hour as crews worked to clear the scene.

Investigators say a Ford Explorer was heading east, uphill on Highway 140. When it spun out of control into the westbound lane.

That's when fire officials say a Toyota 4Runner slammed into its side.

The five people injured suffered various back, chest and neck injuries.

Fire officials say one passenger had to be extricated from the Explorer.

A helicopter was called in to airlift some of the injured to the hospital, but the snowy weather forced it to land several miles away.

Fire officials say responding to crashes on the highway this time of year can be very dangerous.

"Very difficult to respond that's why encourage people to slow down, get a lot of false alarms when we come up here we put a lot of people and not only liability but a lot of people in danger responding to something that not be anything," said Chief Dennis Keife, of Fire District 8.

Fire officials say the crash was most likely caused by speed and road conditions.

The front passengers of both vehicles were airlifted to Rogue Valley Medical Center three others were transported to the hospital by ambulance.