Wrong-Way Driver on I-84 Arrested After Nearly Hitting Two Vehicles near Celilo Park
By Tom Peterson
The Dalles, Ore., Aug. 21, 2026 — A 33-year-old Pasco man was arrested Thursday after Oregon State Police received a report that a vehicle meeting his description drove the wrong way on Interstate 84 near The Dalles, nearly striking two other vehicles.
The incidient if confirmed would be the third case of a wrong-way driver on Interstate 84 in the Columbia Gorge this year.
According to an Oregon State Police report, troopers received reports at about 12:32 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, of a dark Honda Accord driving into oncoming traffic near Milepost 97 near Celilo Park, 13 miles east of The Dalles. The vehicle was reported traveling at varying speeds and nearly collided with two other vehicles, it was reported to 911.
Troopers later located a Honda that fit the same description and stopped it following an observed traffic violation, according to the report.
The driver, identified as Francisco Ortiz Botello, 33, of Pasco, showed signs of impairment, police said. Ortiz Botello consented to standardized field sobriety tests and continued to display signs of impairment.
He was transported to the Hood River County Sheriff's Office, where he provided a breath sample that measured a blood alcohol content of 0.22%, according to Oregon State Police.
That level is nearly three times Oregon's legal blood alcohol limit of 0.08%.
Ortiz Botello was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and reckless driving. He was cited and released, according to the state police report.
The Honda Accord was towed.
Wrong Way Drivers
The incident is the third reported wrong-way driving case on Interstate 84 in the Columbia Gorge in roughly four months.
On May 4, Oregon State Police said a 71-year-old Vancouver, Washington, man, Gary David Woods, allegedly drove a semi-truck westbound in the eastbound lanes near Biggs Junction. A Toyota 4Runner took evasive action to avoid the semi and rolled over, sending the driver and a passenger to the hospital. Woods was later located near milepost 85 and cited on multiple charges, including reckless driving, reckless endangering another person, felony hit-and-run and fourth-degree assault.
Then, on July 6, OSP said Tomas M. Blas Morales, 22, of The Dalles, was driving a Toyota Camry westbound in the eastbound lanes near milepost 83 when he reportedly collided head-on with a Nissan Altima. The impact seriously injured the other driver, who was flown to a Portland-area hospital. Blas Morales was arrested on charges including DUII, second-degree assault, reckless driving and reckless endangering.
Thursday's incident near milepost 97 adds a third alleged wrong-way incident to the recent string. In this case, OSP said the driver of a dark Honda Accord was reported traveling into oncoming traffic and nearly struck two vehicles before being stopped. A breath test later showed the driver had a blood alcohol content of 0.22%, according to police.
The three incidents occurred along a relatively short stretch of I-84 through the Gorge, from near Biggs Junction to The Dalles, and each involved allegations of a driver traveling against the normal flow of interstate traffic.
