“The driver and the passenger were in a verbal dispute when the passenger grabbed the steering wheel and cranked it to the right,” the report states. “The passenger denied it and claimed the driver was traveling 95MPH and attempted to get her phone, and it caused the crash.

Pitts was seen earlier in the week at the laundry at Cascade Square. He said he was going to see his girlfriend in Hood River, a 40-year-old male, also houseless, told CCCNews under the condition of anonymity today, Feb. 1. “He was a nice guy; I never had a problem with him,” he said.

A fire is burning a .5 - 1 mile stretch along I-84 in Rowena. A level 3 GO NOW evacuation is in effect along HWY 30 for addresses 5220-6090.