SALEM – A pedestrian died early Thursday morning after getting stuck by a car while walking along Interstate-5 in Salem, police said.
It happened around 6 a.m., on I-5 southbound, near milepost 258.
Investigators said 44-year-old Dale Underwood was trying to cross the freeway from the west to east when he was hit by at least five cars. Underwood was from Oregon City and was employed at a Keizer-area restaurant not near the freeway.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the pedestrian was cooperating with police.
The victim's father, Wayne Underwood, said Dale was not a hitchhiker as far as he knows but he could not think of any other reason for him to be crossing the freeway.
Underwood says his son had recently moved to Keizer after landing the cooking job at Porters Pub, about one mile from where Underwood was struck and killed.
Underwood’s parents said he lived just a few blocks from the Pub and did not own a car. Wayne Underwood says he was told his son worked a double shift yesterday and likely got off work around 11 p.m.
The southbound stretch of the busy interstate was closed during the investigation and a detour set up during the rush hour but it was re-opened just before 9:30 a.m.
