OREGON – A 58-year-old truck driver found that he could not ascend a steep grade while transporting a 1969 Chieftan battle tank weighing 50-tons. According to Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings, the driver, Jeffrey Glossop of Pistol River, then unloaded the tank at the Myers Creek Wayside along U.S. 101. Armed only with the manual for the tank, Glossop got behind the wheel in hopes of getting it up the hill.
“He had the manual, so he thought he could do it,” Hastings said. Apparently the manual was not enough.
Glossop was able to maneuver the tank out of the wayside and proceeded up nearby Myers Creek Road toward the property of the man who had purchased the tank. However, part way up the hill, the tank slipped out of gear, rolled backwards out-of-control across the U.S. 101 before crashing into a guard rail. Several cars were forced to stop to avoid the tank, which was frequently used in the United Kingdom during the 60’s.
The determined Glossop would not be deterred by one minor crash. He drove the tank bank through the damaged guardrail, across Highway 101 and headed back up Myers Creek Road.