My wife and I were coming back from Timberline Lodge on the 26 this evening. Everyone suddenly came to a screaching halt. It turns out a tourist in a rented Buick crossed the painted median on a curve, straight into oncoming traffic at about 60 mph. The Buick actually passed us about a minute or two earlier. The accident involved all 4 lanes and shut the highway down for about 4 hours.
We knew it was bad, but couldn't get a good view because of the curve in the road - fortunately. We were about 15 cars ahead, and the road was curving downward and to the right. The cops frantically waved everyone to turn around and go back. The Thomas Guide found us a secret passage through the mountains to bypass the highway. Otherwise it would have been a massive drive back around Mt. Hood. Later on the news, we heard how bad it actually was. They also said the sun was partially at fault - which is BS. At that time of day, at that angle, it was not in position to cause any visual problems.
Accident Story
