Wrong-way Driver, Fatality, Debris in roadway, part of accident uptick in Gorge
By Tom Peterson
Police in the Gorge have had their hands full the last several days as multiple accidents, a fatality, and yet another wrong-way driver on Interstate 84 sent lights flashing.
Multiple vehicles were damaged on Interstate 84 on Friday, March 15 at around 7 a.m. when debris and a piece of metal likely fell from a vehicle near Mosier and was later struck by other drivers. Four vehicles ran into the debris and sustained enough damage that their vehicles had to be towed.
On Saturday, March 16, a motorcyclist sustained minor injuries after hitting a car at the intersection of Highways 30 and 197 in The Dalles. The crash occurred around 1:30 p.m., hobbling traffic in the area.
“The car was northbound on 197 when the motorcycle driven by James Douglas Hunt of Stevenson, Wash., 54, made an improper left turn from Highway 30 onto US 197 and was struck, according to the Oregon State Police Log.
LifeFlight was put on standby but was not called into service. Thankfully, both drivers suffered only minor injuries, the report states.
On Sunday, March 17, an Oregon State Police Trooper responded to a wrong-way driver on Interstate 84 in Hood River County.
The report came in at 4:20 p.m. and troopers located a gray Jeep crashed into a forest road gate. The vehicle came back with a “delayed hit” as a stolen vehicle out of Keizer. And the man driving it, Lucas D Hensley, 35, of Salem had a warrant out of Douglas County. He was displaying signs of controlled substance abuse,” according to the OSP log.
The Trooper arrested Hensley and he was lodged at NORCOR Jail in The Dalles on suspicion of vehicle theft, DUII and reckless driving.
Drivers are always encouraged to keep their eyes peeled and off phones and always be looking for escape routes, - places to drive your car if another vehicle or object impedes your lane - a great practice of defensive driving.
We don’t say this lightly. This is the sixth wrong-way driver on I-84 in our area in the last three years.
Interstate 84 wrong-way driver story December 2021
Interstate 84 wrong-way driver story March 2022
Interstate 84 wrong way driver story May 2023
On Monday, March 18, a Trooper and Sherman County Deputy responded to a fatality on Highway 97 south of Kent at 11:45 a.m.
The preliminary investigation indicated a northbound Volkswagen Beetle, operated by Jayden Matthew Smith, 23, of Prineville, crossed into the southbound lane for unknown reasons and struck a Volvo commercial motor vehicle and trailer, operated by Kashmir Singh, 36, of Tacoma head-on. The collision caused both vehicles to catch fire and become fully engulfed, according to an OSP press release.
Smith was declared deceased at the scene.
Singh was not injured.
The highway was impacted for approximately 6.5 hours during the on-scene investigation.
OSP was assisted by the Sherman County Sheriff's Office and ODOT.
On Tuesday, March 19, a trooper responded to a crash on I-84 near Memaloose State Park, where a Hyundai traveling westbound struck the median for unknown reasons and came to rest blocking the left lane at 6:30 p.m.
“The driver and passenger were visibly intoxicated,” according to Trooper Jonathon Swiger’s report. The pair suffered minor injuries and declined treatment from medics. Swiger arrested the driver, Crystal May Fallow, 45, of Grants Pass on suspicion of drunken driving. Fallow was taken to NORCOR jail where she provided a breath sample that came back with a blood-alcohol reading of .33 - four times the legal limit.
“The driver was cited and released to the care of a sober friend,” the report states.
On Wednesday, March 20, OSP Lt. Jason Calloway responded to a rollover of a Nissan Sentra on US 30 just west of The Dalles.
Chester Vernon Deisch rolled the vehicle off an embankment, according to the report.
“The driver reported remembering swerving to the left and then he may have blacked out,” Calloway wrote in the log.
There was no evidence of impairment and Deisch was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Adventist Health in The Dalles, according to the report.
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