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Rock slide injures driver, closes Highway 62 near Prospect By Ryan Pfeil of the Mail Tribune Jan 28, 2020 05:47 PM A A 2 View all photos Several large boulders fell onto Highway 62 near Prospect early Tuesday morning, causing a vehicle crash that temporarily closed the highway, the Oregon Department of Transportation reported. The rock slide happened about 4 a.m. just north of Peyton Bridge, ODOT said. At least two of the boulders were larger than the damaged vehicle, photos provided by ODOT and Oregon State Police showed. “I know we’ve had rocks come down there near the dam,” ODOT public information officer Gary Leaming said. “And I obviously have seen rocks on the side of the road or in the ditch in this section, but to my knowledge, I haven’t seen that (size) of boulders come off of that section since I’ve been with the agency, at least in my memory, anyway.” Prospect Charter School canceled Tuesday classes because of the road closure, according to the school’s website. A traffic lane opened Tuesday afternoon, with flaggers and pilot cars guiding vehicles. Drivers should continue to expect short delays just north of Peyton Bridge over Lost Creek Lake. Starting Wednesday morning, ODOT crews will remove additional rocks and debris from the nearby slope. That work is expected to take about a week. The condition of the driver whose vehicle crashed into the boulders was not immediately available. They were transported to a Medford area hospital, but ODOT later reported their injuries were “non-life threatening.” On Tuesday morning, a weather observation site just east of Prospect recorded about an inch of rain over the past 72 hours, according to the National Weather Service. A site at Mount Stella, north of Union Creek, recorded about 1.72 inch during the same period. Another nearby observation site documented 2.27 inches over a six-day period. “It’s not a classic pattern for landslides, but you can see how something like that might happen given all of the precipitation we’ve had,” National Weather Service meteorologist Shad Keene said. A few more “weak systems” are expected to push through the area this week, with a warming period forecast for the weekend. High temperatures in the low 60s are possible. Reach web editor Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RyanPfeil. One driver was injured in a rock slide on Highway 62 near Prospect. ODOT photo. Oregon Department of Transportation crews responded to a rock slide on Highway 62 near Prospect Tuesday. Footage by Vickie Aldous and the Oregon Department of Transportation. Edited by Ryan Pfeil.