Semi Driver Accused of Using Truck as Weapon in I-84 Road Rage Incident

Sep 11

Written By Columbia Community Connection

By Joshuah Albert

Hood River, Ore., Sept. 11, 2026 — A New Jersey semi-truck driver was arrested Thursday evening after motorists reported he was allegedly speeding, weaving through traffic and swerving his truck toward other vehicles along Interstate 84 between Cascade Locks and Hood River, according to Oregon State Police.

Eltereke T. Daniels, 44, of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving, reckless endangering another person, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing, according to the OSP desk log.

Despite the weapon charges, no firearm was involved, OSP Lt. Jason Calloway said Friday. Instead, investigators allege Daniels used the semi-truck itself as a weapon by swerving toward other motorists.

“According to the witnesses, he engaged in road rage behavior,” Calloway said. “There was no firearm.”

Calloway said that based on the totality of the investigation, troopers believed the driver was using the semi as a means of threatening other motorists, creating the potential for a fatal crash or serious injury.

Motorists reported the behavior between Cascade Locks and Hood River. According to Calloway, witnesses alleged the semi was traveling above posted speed limits, moving in and out of traffic, passing vehicles on the right, following too closely and swerving toward other vehicles.

Drivers told police they believed the truck driver was attempting to run them off the road and said they felt threatened by his actions.

OSP received multiple reports of a reckless semi before a trooper located and stopped the truck near milepost 42 eastbound in Hood River County shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday.

“Essentially, the driver was unable to explain why he received so many driving complaints on him,” Calloway said. “He did not admit to the allegations against him.”

The OSP log identifies four people as alleged victims in the reckless-endangering counts and two people as alleged victims associated with the unlawful-use-of-a-weapon and menacing allegations.

Daniels was lodged at the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facilities, or NORCOR. The semi-truck and trailer were towed from the scene by Guzman Brothers Towing, according to OSP.

Calloway said the incident comes amid what he described as increasingly troubling road-rage behavior, including motorists making obscene gestures and, in some cases, brandishing firearms during confrontations.

He urged drivers who encounter dangerous behavior not to retaliate or escalate the situation.

“If you feel like something is unsafe, call us and let us locate the vehicle,” Calloway said. “Don’t incite someone else because you don’t know the person and how they might react. It’s not safe. Call us. That is why we get paid. We will track them down and find them and hold them accountable.”

Calloway also cautioned motorists against immediately assuming another driver's mistake is intentional. Most people, he said, are trying to do the right thing, and drivers should give one another the benefit of the doubt when mistakes happen on the road.