LA GRANDE — One man was seriously injured in an early morning motor 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 tractor-trailer shortly after 3:30 a.m. Ortiz had to be extricated from his vehicle by crews from the La Grande Rural and the La Grande fire departments.

The extrication process was an involved one.

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

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

Ortiz was transported to Grande Ronde Hospital by ambulance, Jackson said, with life-threatening injuries.

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