Motorist killed, ODOT worker critically injured in I-84 crash near Arlington

Aug 12

Written By Columbia Community Connection

From Gilliam County Sheriff's Office with edits from Joshuah Albert:

Arlington, Ore., Aug. 12, 2026 — A motorist was killed and an Oregon Department of Transportation employee was critically injured Tuesday afternoon when a vehicle struck an ODOT maintenance vehicle and then hit both people along Interstate 84 west of Arlington, according to the Gilliam County Sheriff's Office.

Frontier Regional 911 received multiple reports of a serious crash involving several vehicles and pedestrians at about 2:39 p.m. Aug. 11 near milepost 123, approximately 14 miles west of Arlington.

According to a preliminary investigation, an ODOT employee assigned to the Arlington Maintenance Station had stopped to help a motorist change a tire near milepost 122 on westbound I-84.

The ODOT vehicle was parked on the shoulder with its amber warning lights activated and an illuminated reader board displaying an arrow directing approaching traffic into the far lane, the sheriff's office said.

While the employee was assisting the motorist, an approaching vehicle struck the rear of the ODOT vehicle before striking both the employee and motorist, according to the sheriff's office.

The motorist died at the scene.

The ODOT employee suffered critical injuries and was flown by helicopter to a regional trauma center. The sheriff's office reported late Tuesday that the employee remained in critical but stable condition.

Authorities have not released the names of the motorist, ODOT employee or driver of the vehicle that struck them while the investigation remains underway.

I-84 was affected for approximately five hours as emergency crews worked at the scene and members of the Oregon State Police Traffic Reconstruction Unit documented and investigated the crash.

Oregon State Police is leading the investigation.

Agencies responding to the crash included the Gilliam and Sherman county sheriff's offices, Oregon State Police, ODOT, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Police Department, North Gilliam Rural Fire Protection District, North Gilliam Medic Ambulance and Life Flight Network. Frontier Regional 911 coordinated medical and law enforcement resources responding to the incident.