Verbal dispute and grabbed steering wheel suspected in I-84 rollover near Rowena

The Dalles, Ore., Aug. 23, 2024 — Oregon State Police arrested a 54-year-old woman on Thursday, Aug. 22, after it was alleged she was in a verbal fight with the driver and yanked on the steering wheel causing the Dodge Charger they were riding into to roll on Interstate 84 near Rowena. 

The crash occurred around 10 a.m. as the vehicle was traveling eastbound, according to the Oregon State Police report. “The red Charger left its lane of travel, crashed, and rolled on its top.”

“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. She claimed she filmed the driver on her phone. She allowed a search and there was no video of the incident. A witness to the crash stated the Dodge was traveling at around 75MPH and not 95MPH. The road evidence suggested that the vehicle had a rapid and sudden turn, collaborating the driver’s statement.”

The passenger Carolyn Denice Hailes, no address listed, was arrested for Reckless Driving and Reckless Endangerment. She was transported to NORCOR where she was later cited and released. The vehicle was towed by River’s Edge.

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