LA GRANDE — One man was seriously injured in an early morning vehicle crash Tuesday, Sept. 28, on Interstate 84, about 12 miles west of La Grande near the Spring Creek Exit.

Abraham Ortiz, 37, Heber City, Utah, was eastbound on I-84 when his 2000 Audi collided with a parked semitrailer shortly after 3:30 a.m. Crews from the La Grande Rural and the La Grande fire departments had to free Ortiz from his vehicle.

The extrication process was an involved one.

“The roof of the car had to be torn off,” said Sgt. Grant Jackson of Oregon State Police.

There were no other occupants in the Audi, police said.

Ortiz suffered life-threatening injuries, and an ambulance took him to Grande Ronde Hospital, La Grande, Jackson said.

Matthew Ellenberger, 49, Meridian, Idaho, told police he was sleeping in his vehicle at the time of the crash. He was not injured. No passengers were in the truck driver’s vehicle.