Sheep truck overturns near Enterprise at junction of Crow Creek Road and Elk Mountain Road on May 21, 2019.

On Tuesday, May 21, a truck and double trailer hauling sheep from their winter and lambing quarters near Pilot Rock to the Wentz Ranch overturned on Elk Mountain Road near the junction of Crow Creek Road, about 5 miles southeast of Enterprise. The truck and front trailer landed on their sides; the rear trailer tilted but remained upright.

The driver, Oliver Wentz, 83, was taken to Wallowa Memorial Hospital by Wallowa County Emergency Medical Services ambulance, and life-flighted to Boise with injuries that, according to his wife, Joanna, included a broken leg and broken vertebrae in his neck. Wentz was released from the ICU there on Thursday, May 23rd, but will remain hospitalized. “The firefighters and everyone were wonderful. I’m so very grateful for them,” Joanna said.

Enterprise Fire, Wallowa County Sherrif officers and Oregon State Police responded along with the ambulance. They used the Jaws of Life to cut open the overturned trailer to rescue the sheep. Members of the Wentz family worked alongside firefighters to free the animals by clearing debris and fallen partitions from the trailer’s interior. Firefighters had to carry some of the surviving, and very shocked sheep to the outside of the trailer where they revived and ran, or sometimes bounded away from the truck. Sheep were also released from the more upright trailer. Neighbors, friends, and a few of their border collies helped keep the flock corralled and off the roadways.

Of the more than a hundred sheep in the two trailers, only 15 ewes and 15 lambs perished in the accident. “It could have been a lot worse,” said Trevor Wentz. “We got a lot of help from people here. And we brought two more truckloads of sheep home on Wednesday without any problems, so we have them all home now.”